Flock Safety tightens data retention and police oversight after abuse reports

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Started 29D · Updated 28D

Flock Safety, the Atlanta-based surveillance company operating over 119,000 automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras across the US, announced a package of privacy and accountability reforms on August 13, 2026, following a wave of reports documenting police misuse of its technology. The company is cutting its default data retention period from 30 days to seven days, making its Audit Assistance tool mandatory, and requiring case codes for all law enforcement searches.

What happened

The Washington Post recently documented nearly 50 instances of officers charged or accused of unauthorized use, including stalking partners or family members. In response, Flock is reducing the default retention window for license plate reads from 30 days to seven, citing its own data showing officers complete more than 90% of searches within a week. A new "Evidence Mode" will allow agencies to preserve data longer for active investigations, tied to a specific case number.

The reaction

Civil liberties groups have responded with skepticism. The ACLU welcomed the shorter retention period as a "step in the right direction," but characterized other changes as "retreads" of inadequate safety measures, calling the package "a thinly veiled PR attempt." Critics also question the effectiveness of the new safeguards, noting that officers previously circumvented similar requirements—one Oregon department entered "hehehe" as a search reason 20 times.

What's next

Flock will make Audit Assistance mandatory for all law enforcement customers by the end of the year, and case codes will be required for all searches by the end of 2026. The company has also commissioned security firm Bishop Fox to review its systems, with findings due in September. CEO Garrett Langley acknowledged past failures, saying, "We got this one wrong."

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