Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley has acknowledged the company took too long to prevent police misuse of its license plate readers, cameras and drones, which officers have used to track romantic partners, stalk strangers, and in one case monitor a woman who had an abortion. Data retention is being cut from 30 days to seven, and unusual searches will now be automatically flagged.
At least 50 cities cut ties with Flock this year over the backlash, though Langley says 16 have since returned and new customers still outnumber lost ones seven to one. He now supports requiring police to have an active case number before searching Flock's data, a standard he previously resisted adopting himself.
Langley insists 'the data was bad and the officer failed to follow the rules' when wrongful arrests occur, while also arguing cities without Flock are choosing to 'be less safe.' The audit feature that flags misuse only became standard after Langley found officers were abusing it at a rate he calls rampant.
The full dispatch is available from the source below.