Flock license plate reader ABUSE in Athens, Georgia

Our Take

Credit to Athens Politics Nerd for digging into this one, because it's exactly the kind of story Flock Safety and its police department partners would rather you never hear about. An intelligence analyst with access to the ACCPD's Flock network allegedly used it to track someone for personal reasons, not public safety. He got fired. The cameras kept running.

This is the part of the ALPR sales pitch that never makes it into the press release: every one of these networks is a loaded surveillance tool sitting in front of whoever has login credentials. Flock markets 'audit trails' and 'accountability' as if logging a search after the fact undoes the damage of someone using it to stalk an ex, a neighbor, or a critic. In this case the misuse surfaced. In how many departments does it not, because nobody's looking, because the audits are self-policed, because the public has no idea these networks exist on their streets in the first place?

This is why we built the map — so communities can see exactly where these cameras are and start asking their own police departments the uncomfortable questions about who has access and what they're doing with it. If Athens, GA has a rogue analyst story, your town probably has one waiting to be found too. Check take action for how to push back before it's your plate getting pulled for all the wrong reasons.