Flock of critics<\/strong><\/p>\nCouncilwoman Mary McAllen tried to bring up Flock cameras at the Nov. 3 meeting on police photo enforcement cameras.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve received probably over 100 emails about it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As a Progress story last month noted, some Scottsdale critics of police technology are bashing \u201ccop cams\u201d \u2013 not body cameras worn by police, but \u201ceyes in the sky\u201d positioned at intersections and other public areas.<\/p>\n
Scottsdale technicians and detectives used Flock to take down a murder suspect, \u201ccrime tourists\u201d and an armed car thief.<\/p>\n
Even so, the program has a flock of critics.<\/p>\n
Eric Fowler, who identified himself as the chair of the Maricopa County Libertarian Party, spoke out passionately at a November Scottsdale City Council meeting.<\/p>\n
Fowler derided Flock as \u201cAI mass surveillance network, a system that this council never voted on, never held a hearing about, and apparently never knew existed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calling the Flock system \u201cmass surveillance of innocent people without warrants,\u201d Fowler concluded:<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m demanding that you terminate this contract immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Merissa Hamilton also spoke against the Flock program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have great concerns about this, and I think that instead of saying that to promote the responsible and transparent use of these license plate readers and photo radar, that that’s kind of an oxymoron, there is no way to have responsible or transparent use of these devices.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is hardly just a local issue, as the American Civil Liberties Union also has problems with Flock.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cloud automatic license plate reader company Flock is building a dangerous nationwide mass-surveillance infrastructure, as we have been pointing out for several years now,\u201d according to the ACLU\u2019s website \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
The ACLU complains Flock \u201callows police to do nationwide searches of the resulting database, giving even the smallest-town police chief access to an enormously powerful driver-surveillance tool.\u201d<\/p>\n
The system is secure, the company insists:<\/p>\n
\u201cFlock Safety is dedicated to ensuring our customers’ privacy by safeguarding all data and information collected through our devices.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe, but \u2026<\/p>\n
According to an Aug. 17, 2024, story in the Wichita Eagle: \u201cA Sedgwick, Kansas, police chief used Flock Safety license plate readers to track his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend’s vehicles 228 times over four-plus years.\u201d<\/p>\n
While that case is an outlier, the \u201cdeflock\u201d group (deflock.me) complains Flock\u2019s cameras \u201ccollect data on millions of vehicles regardless of whether the driver is suspected of a crime.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThese systems are marketed as indispensable tools to fight crime, but they ignore the powerful tools police already have to track criminals, such as cell phone location data, creating a loophole that doesn’t require a warrant.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Flock Safety\u2019s website, Scottsdale uses Flock as a high-tech solution for an age-old problem:<\/p>\n
\u201cDeclining interest in law enforcement careers led to staffing concerns. Yet, the city\u2019s status as a major event hub and hotspot for organized retail theft meant there was no room for compromise on safety. The police needed to ensure large crowds\u2019 safety, effectively allocate resources and weed out false 911 reports.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the company, the SPD\u2019s Flock-provided \u201ctech arsenal\u201d includes license-plate reading cameras; PTZ (plan, tilt, zoom) cameras; a video management system to integrate third-party live cameras and into Flock\u2019s operating system; and \u201cPrivately owned Flock Safety LPR cameras and approximately 4,000 live video streams from local entities\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cAll these devices feed into Scottsdale\u2019s Real-Time Crime Center via FlockOS.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Flock, the system helps Scottsdale officers \u201csolve crimes faster, allocate resources efficiently and improve public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bolin confirmed the accuracy of Flock\u2019s description of its SPD services. Bolin added the \u201capproximately 4,000 live video streams\u201d referenced by Flock come from the Scottsdale Unified School District and businesses that have agreements with the SPD.<\/p>\n
The Progress asked Scottsdale Police Chief Joe LeDuc to respond to critics of Scottsdale\u2019s use of Flock license plate readers, or LPR.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegarding the claim that Flock LPRs are an \u2018AI mass surveillance network\u2019 implemented without oversight or in violation of constitutional protections, that characterization is incorrect,\u201d LeDuc said.<\/p>\n
\u201cScottsdale\u2019s license plate reader cameras are a targeted public safety tool.\u201d<\/p>\n
The annual cost for the Flock system is $372,050 \u2013 and well worth it, LeDuc insisted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe public safety benefits of license plate reader technology far outweigh its cost because it allows law enforcement to prevent harm, not just respond to it after the fact,\u201d LeDuc said.<\/p>\n
The 85 LPR cameras across the city \u201ccapture images of license plates and limited vehicle descriptors on public roadways only,\u201d LeDuc said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey do not identify people, use facial recognition, or track lawful activity,\u201d LeDuc stressed.<\/p>\n
License plate information, according to the chief of police, \u201cis compared against specific, lawfully established alert lists tied to stolen vehicles, wanted persons, missing persons, or active criminal investigations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flock searches<\/strong><\/p>\nAverages of various agencies on haveibeenflocked.com<\/a> (data as of Jan. 26):<\/p>\nArizona Department of Public Safety: 201 Flock searches per day.<\/p>\n
Chandler Police Department: 23 Flock searches per day.<\/p>\n
Gilbert Police Department: 54 Flock searches per day.<\/p>\n
Glendale Police Department: 19 Flock searches per day.<\/p>\n
Goodyear Police Department: 31 Flock searches per day.<\/p>\n
Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office: 19 Flock searches per day.<\/p>\n
Mesa Police Department: 18 Flock searches per day.<\/p>\n
Peoria Police Department: 16 Flock searches per day.<\/p>\n
Phoenix Police Department: 47 Flock searches per day.<\/p>\n
Queen Creek Police Department: 23 Flock searches per day.<\/p>\n
Scottsdale Police Department: 56 Flock searches per day.<\/p>\n
Tempe Police Department: 47 Flock searches per day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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