Flock mandates audit feature as scrutiny of police camera use grows
Surveillance technology startup Flock has announced new policies for its automated license plate reader systems, including a recommendation that police departments retain data for seven days instead of 30. The company also plans to require every customer to enable its Audit Assistance feature by the end of the year, after saying that more than one-third had activated it since its April launch.
Flock says the measures are intended to curb misuse and improve accountability among law-enforcement customers. Its announcement follows reported cases of customers abusing the company’s technology, including the recent arrest of three former Georgia sheriff’s deputies accused of using Flock cameras to stalk people with whom they had personal relationships.
Retention and sharing controls
Under the new guidance, Flock recommends a seven-day retention period for camera data, replacing its previous 30-day recommendation. Customers that need to keep data longer in exceptional cases can use Evidence Mode, which requires a specific case number.
The company also says customers will be able to restrict the data they share with other customers according to the type of offence being investigated. These controls place the policy changes alongside the broader debate around police surveillance systems, including Flock's surveillance and security agenda and its focus on AI, surveillance and security in Flock’s public agenda.
What Audit Assistance flags
Flock describes Audit Assistance as a data tool, rather than an AI or machine-learning system, that identifies atypical search patterns for further review. A flagged event does not establish abuse, the company said; it indicates that an administrator should investigate. The system can automatically lock out a flagged user until an administrator intervenes.
Flock has given examples of behaviour that may draw attention, such as repeated searches for the same licence plate over more than 30 days or searches for the same plate using multiple case codes. In a press release, Major Patrick Krieg of the Dunwoody, Georgia Police Department described the feature as an algorithm that had notified the department of possible bias.
Demand for independent evidence
Flock has not provided detailed information on how Audit Assistance determines that activity is abnormal, what patterns it is designed to surface, or what data supports its rules. It has also not disclosed effectiveness statistics, false-positive and false-negative rates, or a third-party audit.
Chad Marlow of the American Civil Liberties Union said the available information does not show that the tool consistently addresses abuse and called for independent evaluation. Cooper Quintin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation argued that accountability also depends on whether misuse leads to consequences, while Rachel Levinson-Waldman of the Brennan Center said mandatory deployment is a positive step in theory but that the tool needs auditing in practice.
For organisations using surveillance platforms, the practical implication is that retention limits and automated alerts should be paired with documented review workflows, independent testing and enforceable consequences for misuse before they are treated as sufficient safeguards.