Three Rhode Island Police Chiefs Hold News Conference About Flock Safety Deployment

Our Take

Notice who's hosting this video: Flock Safety itself. That's not a knock on the Cranston, Pawtucket, and Woonsocket chiefs for wanting a tool they believe helps solve crimes — it's a reminder that this clip, originally aired by WPRI, is being recirculated by the vendor as a marketing asset. When the company selling the surveillance network is also the one curating the press coverage, you should expect a highlight reel, not a hearing.

What's missing from a segment like this is the stuff that actually matters to the public footing the bill: how long plate data is retained, who else can query it, whether it's shared across state lines or with federal agencies, and what happens when the system misreads a plate and sends officers after the wrong car. Three chiefs saying a camera network "will help solve crime" is not the same as an independent audit showing it does — responsibly, with guardrails, and without turning every commute into a logged data point.

Rhode Island residents in these three cities deserve to know if a Flock camera is already watching their street. Check our map to see what's been deployed near you, and if you'd rather your city debate this in public before signing a contract, our take-action page has steps for pushing your council to slow down and ask harder questions.