Flock says it will address police misuse of surveillance systems

Aug. 13 (UPI) — Surveillance technology company Flock Safety announced new measures to safeguard the use of its technology on Thursday after a series of incidents committed by law enforcement officers.

Flock founder and chief executive Garrett Langley admitted in an interview that the company took too long to implement measures to counter misuse by police officers. This follows a series of reports of officers using Flock technology to stalk exes and har*** people.

Flock cameras have been linked to police tracking a woman who had an abortion and surveilling people who were not suspects in any crime. The backlash against Flock has led to 50 cities terminating use of the technology.

Among the safeguards Flock announced on Thursday is a reduction in the number of days that most data is retained in its systems. In most cases, data retainment will be reduced from 30 days to seven.

The auditing system incorporated into the Flock technology will be mandatory to use. The system will flag any abnormal searches or uses. Flock did not define what will be considered abnormal.

When the auditing technology was optional only about one-third of law enforcement agencies used it.

“As we now go from one-third of our customers to all of our customers having it, I think we will find new forms of abuse, program that into the system to prevent it from happening again,” Langley said.

Langley added that police have misused law enforcement tools before Flock existed.

“A cop checks his daughter’s boyfriend’s criminal record,” he said. “A cop checks ex-partners’ location. It is typically taking the job and the power you’re given and using it for personal gain.”

Starting Thursday, every vehicle search through Flock will require a specific case code to demonstrate its necessity. Police departments will be able to determine what data can be shared with other departments.