An artificial intelligence start-up, which halted its trial with federal agencies over concerns it shared users’ data, said it wants to enter public surveillance and prevent all crime before it happens, according to business magazine Forbes. Critics have said that Flock Safety’s expansion is creating an Orwellian atmosphere across the nation in the quest for public safety.
Flock Safety CEO and co-founder Garrett Langley revealed the company’s plan in the Forbes report, arguing that it will outcompete its rivals in policing neighborhoods with its “Drone as a First Responder” program. But an investigation from tech news site 404 Media revealed that local law enforcement have openly shared data from Flock with federal authorities, unbeknownst to the tech company. Flock has since paused “all ongoing federal pilots.”
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The Atlanta-based company’s license plate readers are known for picking up plate numbers, a car’s make, distinctive features and a person’s travel habits. More than 5,000 law enforcement agencies work with Flock for its readers, according to the company.
Several additional police departments have been using the company’s DFR program since the spring. Video demos on Flock Safety appeared to show the aircraft devices deployed to the source of a 911 call, then broadcast a video to police that has night vision, thermal and zoom capabilities.
Organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union have praised Flock in 2023 for developing a system that helps flag stolen vehicles or cars associated with AMBER Alerts, stating that “there’s no reason the technology should be used to create comprehensive records of everybody’s comings and goings.”
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties nonprofit focused on technology, has long criticized Flock Safety for its cameras and software. It brought up the case of a Texas sheriff who used Flock’s automated license plate reader data to track down a woman who self-managed her abortion. The tech company and sheriff’s office called the reporting from 404 Media misleading as the woman was considered a missing person.
“The consequence of building a product that actually changes people’s lives is that there will be a lot of people we piss off along the way, because what we’re doing actually matters,” Langley told Forbes.
Flock’s crime response goal
Langley’s aspirations came to be months after the company announced in April that its Drone as First Responder devices can access live 911 calls and location data. Police departments in California, New York State, Texas and Washington State signed contracts with the tech company for the program.
The police department in Commerce City, Colorado, which has used Drone as a First Responder since July, announced the new technology won’t be used to observe or search for crimes, but to respond.
“The drones will never be deployed for routine surveillance, as the DFR system will only activate in response to specific 911 calls or alerts from the city’s Flock public safety technology,” according to the department. “This targeted approach helps ensure that the drones are used solely for enhancing emergency response, not for routine monitoring.”
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Flock Safety has 83,000 license plate readers throughout the country, used by more than 5,000 police departments and over 1,000 businesses.
According to The Denver Post, officers don’t need to be in the area to deploy the drones. A licensed police drone pilot used the device to track down a person suspected of stealing a motorcycle. Police later showed up at the man’s home and arrested him. Commerce City Police Cmdr. Jeremy Jenkins told the newspaper the suspect had three felony arrest warrants and was previously convicted of a felony, but didn’t specify what.
Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst with the ACLU, is concerned about the program putting “robotic devices” in charge of policing.
“You’re putting police robotic devices above people’s homes and communities — that’s an inherently sensitive thing,” he told the Denver Post.
Supporters of drone policing programs like Flock’s have said citizens won’t be the only ones watched. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison said in 2024 during Oracle’s Financial Analyst Meeting that having AI and cameras report crimes to law enforcement influences a society to self-police itself.
“Citizens will be on their best behavior, because we’re constantly recording and reporting everything that’s going on,” he said.
Privacy investigations
Concerns about how Flock would predict or report crime to police aren’t new. Tech news site 404 Media revealed in July that local police regularly shared data with and performed searches for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies that came from Flock’s ALPRs.
One of the cases 404 Media found was a police analyst from Medford, Oregon, who looked up license plate numbers in Flock’s software for Homeland Security and ICE. The analyst then turned to the federal agents to search the plate in DHS’s border crossing database.
In Illinois, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said in a Monday, Aug. 25, release that an audit revealed Flock violated his state’s law on sharing data. The law bars all law enforcement agencies from working with federal authorities on immigration enforcement without a court warrant.
Giannoulias’ office audited a sample of Flock Safety’s data from 12 law enforcement agencies in June, and learned at the end of August the tech company didn’t have safeguards in place to prevent data sharing. The audit revealed Flock Safety allowed CBP to access Illinois’ cameras and watch drivers.
“This sharing of license plate data of motorists who drive on Illinois roads is a clear violation of the state law,” Giannoulias said in the release. “This law passed two years ago aimed to strengthen how data is shared and prevent this exact thing from happening.”
Several police departments have started terminating contracts and deactivating Flocks’ cameras.
