Flock Safety mandates technical guardrails to curb police stalking
The ALPR provider is introducing mandatory audits and case codes after reports of officers using surveillance tools to track ex-partners.
Flock Safety is implementing mandatory technical restrictions to prevent law enforcement officers from using its license plate reader network for personal stalking. The move comes as the company faces scrutiny over the systemic misuse of its surveillance tools by police personnel.
To curb abuse, Flock is making its "Audit Assistance" feature mandatory. This tool is designed to flag abnormal search behavior and automatically lock out suspicious users until an administrator can review the activity. Additionally, all users must now enter case codes or a specific reason for every query, although administrators retain the ability to override this requirement during emergencies. The company is also reducing the default data retention period for automated license plate reader (ALPR) data from 30 days to seven days.
The catalyst for change
The shift in policy follows high-profile instances of misconduct. Former Braselton, Georgia Police Chief Michael Steffman was arrested for stalking after allegedly using the system to search for his ex-girlfriend's license plate roughly 600 times over several months.
Flock CEO Garrett Langley previously argued that oversight was the primary responsibility of lawmakers. However, Langley has since shifted toward corporate accountability as regulatory action has lagged. "We got this one wrong," Langley admitted regarding the previously voluntary nature of the guardrails. He further noted that as these tools are implemented, "you are going to see more officers fired and more officers arrested for abusing police power."
Systemic risks and oversight
Despite these updates, civil liberties advocates argue that technical patches cannot resolve deep-seated issues of police misconduct. The ACLU has stated that Flock's updates appear more focused on addressing a public relations problem than the actual harms created by the products.
The tension highlights a critical gap in the surveillance industry: the efficiency of mass tracking tools often outpaces the legal frameworks meant to govern them. Because the technical guardrails are often managed by the same agencies committing the abuse, critics argue that victims remain vulnerable to state-sponsored harassment if independent oversight is absent.
What remains
Flock now provides ALPR networks to over 5,000 law enforcement agencies, making the scale of potential misuse a significant concern for privacy experts. While the new mandatory audits provide a digital paper trail, the effectiveness of these measures depends on whether agency administrators actually act on the flags generated by the system. Observers will be watching to see if these internal corporate changes lead to a measurable decrease in misuse or if stricter legislative mandates will be required to protect the public.