Flock Safety is tightening privacy and accountability rules for its automated license plate reader network amid mounting criticism of the technology.The change
Flock Safety is tightening privacy and accountability rules for its automated license plate reader network amid mounting criticism of the technology.
The changes could potentially reshape how law enforcement agencies in Washington and across the country store, search, and share vehicle data.
The company said Thursday it is reducing its default retention period for license plate data from 30 days to seven days.
It will also require law enforcement customers to use tools intended to identify suspicious searches and prevent unauthorized access.
The changes come as Flock faces growing scrutiny that its network can allow police to track people's movements without a warrant.
A growing number of agencies and jurisdictions nationwide have canceled, suspended, or rejected contracts or deactivated cameras.
In Western Washington, that includes Redmond, Renton, Edmonds, Lynnwood and other cities.
Flock's cameras automatically photograph passing vehicles and record information including license plates.
Law enforcement agencies can use the system to search and share information across jurisdictional boundaries. Police have credited the technology with helping find missing people, recover stolen vehicles, and identify suspects in violent crimes.
However, critics have said that collecting information about large numbers of people who are not suspected of crimes is akin to warrantless surveillance.
Flock is now recommending that automated license plate reader data be retained for seven days instead of 30.
The company said more than 90% of searches that do not include a complete license plate occur within a week.
The new retention periods will not automatically apply to existing customers. Instead, they will retain their currently approved retention periods rather than automatically moving to seven days.
Additionally, investigators will also be able to preserve specific records connected to active investigations for longer periods.
That distinction could prove significant in debates over the cameras because the seven-day period is a recommendation and default rather than an across-the-board limit.
Bakersfield police said a network of license plate reader cameras is helping investigators solve crimes faster, but expanding the city's contract could cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. Eyewitness News took a closer look at who has access to the data, how it's being used, and whether the system is helping solve crimes. PHOTO: KBAK/KBFXFlock is also making its audit assistance system mandatory for law enforcement customers by the end of the year.
The system detects potentially abnormal searches and flags them for review. Flock said it will add automatic lockouts so that when activity meets criteria for abnormal behavior, access will be suspended until an administrator reviews the searches.
Law enforcement users will also be required to provide a case code or valid reason before conducting searches.
Emergency searches may bypass the requirement, but those searches will be flagged for administrative review.
Flock CEO Garrett Langley said the measures are intended to give communities greater control while making misuse easier to identify.
The announcement follows reports of law enforcement officers allegedly using license plate reader systems for personal purposes.
Privacy advocates say Flock's new safeguards do not address their fundamental objection to the technology, which is that police can search a database on people's movements without first obtaining approval from a judge.
Tee Sannon, the technology policy program director at ACLU-WA, provided a statement to KOMO News listing the shortcomings of Flock Safety's changes.
“Flock’s latest changes come after mounting public criticism, but they fall short of addressing the fundamental privacy risks of its mass surveillance system. Features like search controls can be circumvented. Audit tools flag misuse only after harm has already taken place. Washingtonians deserve strong privacy protections, and Flock’s response to its current PR crisis reflects the growing public backlash against widespread surveillance — people do not want to be tracked without their knowledge or consent," Sannon said in the statement.
