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8h ago

Flock Safety Contracts Pause as Drone Program Escalates Surveillance Concerns

Local audits and officer investigations are testing whether the company’s new mandatory audits and shorter data retention will limit misuse or prompt stronger legal limits.

SILVER SPRING, MD - AUGUST 19: An Axon brand automatic license plate reader (ALPR) camera stands in the median of 16th Street near the border of Maryland and the District of Columbia on August 19, 2026 in Silver Spring, Maryland. Law enforcement technology company Flock, which runs a nationwide network of automated license plate readers (ALPR), introduced new safety controls last week in an effort to curb scrutiny after a series of recent police officer resignations and arrests for alleged abuses of the company’s tools. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
SILVER SPRING, MD - AUGUST 19: Traffic flows past an Axon brand automatic license plate reader (ALPR) camera in the median of 16th Street near the border of Maryland and the District of Columbia on August 19, 2026 in Silver Spring, Maryland. Law enforcement technology company Flock, which runs a nationwide network of automated license plate readers (ALPR), introduced new safety controls last week in an effort to curb scrutiny after a series of recent police officer resignations and arrests for alleged abuses of the company’s tools. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
SILVER SPRING, MD - AUGUST 19: Traffic flows past an Axon brand automatic license plate reader (ALPR) camera in the median of 16th Street near the border of Maryland and the District of Columbia on August 19, 2026 in Silver Spring, Maryland. Law enforcement technology company Flock, which runs a nationwide network of automated license plate readers (ALPR), introduced new safety controls last week in an effort to curb scrutiny after a series of recent police officer resignations and arrests for alleged abuses of the company’s tools. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Photos taken of a destroyed Flock camera found on Gilboa Street in Douglas.

Overview

  • This week dozens of cities and towns have paused, renegotiated or ended contracts and in some cases powered down Flock cameras after reporting and municipal audits found high false alerts and potential officer misuse.
  • Multiple police probes have identified officers who allegedly used the system for personal searches, including a Stow officer facing firing and criminal referral and a New Bedford officer placed on leave while investigators review alleged tracking of an ex‑partner.
  • Flock has announced specific platform changes that will be mandatory by January 1: an auditing tool to flag unusual searches, a requirement that searches be tied to a case number, and a default data‑retention cut from 30 days to seven days with case-based preservation.
  • The company is rapidly expanding its Drone as First Responder program, which it says can reach calls in under two minutes, fly about 60 mph at roughly 400 feet and read plates from long range, a development privacy groups warn turns roadside ALPRs into aerial surveillance.
  • The controversy has triggered public town halls, protests and calls for state and local limits while courts issue mixed rulings on whether long‑term vehicle‑location logs require warrants, leaving policy and legal standards unsettled and likely to shape buying decisions.