Overview
- Flock announced that it will shorten its default data retention from 30 days to seven days, require law enforcement customers to use audit tools, add an evidence‑mode to preserve hits, and enforce a case‑number requirement for most searches with automatic lockouts for flagged activity to be rolled out later this year.
- Reporting and local audits have documented roughly 46 identified Flock‑related improper searches by officers, several criminal referrals and recent firings in Savannah after the company’s optional audit tools flagged misuse.
- Independent reviews and police department checks found serious accuracy problems in some deployments, including a Roseville review that reported frequent plate‑number mismatches that have led to false alerts and wrongful stops.
- Public pushback has grown: grassroots groups have formed local chapters, more than 50 jurisdictions have paused or ended contracts according to a tracker, cameras have been vandalized, and a new site called HaveIBeenFlocked.com compiles FOIA audit logs so drivers can see if their plates were searched.
- Civil‑liberties groups and legal advocates say the company’s fixes are not enough and continue to press for judicial warrants for searches, independent audits, statutory limits on retention and enforceable penalties for misuse, while lawmakers consider restrictions.