Former President Sentenced in Federal Court, ShotSpotter, Wikileaks, Mail Searches.

Our Take

Lawstache Law Firm's roundup covers a lot of ground, but the ShotSpotter thread is the one that matters most to us. New York auditors reportedly found what critics have said for years: the gunshot-detection system generates a lot of noise — literally — sending cops chasing false positives while real crime goes unaddressed. Sound familiar? It should, because it's the same pitch Flock Safety uses to sell ALPR networks to city councils: trust the algorithm, deploy the hardware, and public safety will follow. The results rarely match the sales deck.

ShotSpotter and Flock are cut from the same cloth — expensive, opaque systems marketed as crime-fighting silver bullets, installed with minimal public debate, and audited (if ever) only after millions of taxpayer dollars are already spent. The pattern is consistent: vendors control the narrative, departments cite vague 'success' metrics, and independent auditors eventually find the tech either doesn't work as advertised or creates new problems — false alerts, wasted manpower, expanded surveillance infrastructure that outlives its original justification.

The lesson for anyone tracking Flock's expansion is simple: don't wait for the audit. Push for transparency now, before the cameras and sensors become permanent fixtures nobody can quite justify or remove. Check our map to see what's already been installed near you, and if you want to push back before your city signs another blank check, our take-action page has the tools to get started.