Flock Cameras Enhance Crime-Fighting Efforts in Albany

Our Take

Let's be clear about what this is: a Flock Safety produced promo video, starring a Flock-friendly police chief and an analyst whose job is literally to showcase the product. That doesn't mean the underlying crime stories are fake, but it does mean we're getting the company's highlight reel, not an independent audit of how many plates get scanned, how long data is kept, who else can query it, or how often the system is wrong. "Transparency and communication" is a talking point, not a policy — and talking points don't show up in public audit logs or retention schedules.

The bigger issue DeFlock readers already know: every ALPR network sold as a tool for solving homicides and shootings is, by design, a mass surveillance net that logs the location of every car that passes, innocent or not, all day every day. One cleared case doesn't tell you how many Albany residents just had their movements logged without suspicion, or whether that data is shared with federal agencies, insurers, or other police departments down the line. Chief Persely's "extra officer" analogy is cute, but a human officer can't quietly build a searchable travel history on every driver in town — a Flock camera can.

If you live in or near Albany, check our camera map to see what's already watching your commute, and head to take-action for templates to push your city council for real transparency: public dashboards, audit logs, and hard limits on data sharing — not just a company's marketing video.