Elk Grove PD Connects DFR, LPR, and Video for Faster, More Consistent Coverage
The short version: Flock's own promo video touts Elk Grove PD stitching together drones, plate readers, and live video into one surveillance pipeline, and that's exactly the problem.
Our Take
This clip comes straight from Flock Safety's marketing team, not an independent journalist, so take the glowing framing with a grain of salt. What they're describing as "faster, more consistent coverage" is really the quiet merger of three separate surveillance systems — aerial drones, automated license plate readers, and networked video — into a single, searchable dragnet that follows people before any crime has even been reported.
Each of these tools on its own raises privacy red flags. Linked together into one workflow, they become something much bigger: a persistent, automated tracking net that logs where you drive, what your car looks like, and now what's happening overhead, all cross-referenced in real time. Elk Grove PD isn't unique here — this is the direction Flock is pushing departments nationwide, and the company has every incentive to make integration sound like pure public safety upside with none of the tradeoffs.
What's missing from the pitch is any mention of retention limits, audit trails, or independent oversight of who can query this combined system and why. Before your city signs onto the next "connected workflow," check whether these cameras are already watching your streets on our map, and see what you can do about it at take action.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Flock, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.