They must really want to use this tech on us if they're willing to throw their own under the bus for using it "wrong".
Regardless, hemming and hawing about lack of access controls and rogue (i.e. not using to do their job properly) cops is implicitly saying that this system could/would/should exist if it has "proper" access controls, whatever that means. It's like seeing a slave labor gulag and saying that the prisoners need better recreation ad more frequent laundry as if that would make it not fundamentally a gulag. To say things like access controls need to be fixed or tied to warrants is advocating for turd polishing. Even with proper access controls the purpose of these systems is to create misery at the hands of the state. The turd is still a turd even if it's shiny.
This is just a drop in the bucket. There have been at least 50 cops charged with using flock data to stalk ex partners and women they are interested in!
Completely agree that there is a possible silver lining of exposing some of these. However, even if they get fired from this department, they often just get hired later by their buddies in the neighboring county.
Public records and databases available to citizens is a control against these folks getting hired again in positions of power and trust in the future. It is a form of append only public distributed trust ledger. Correlate such datasets against your local law enforcement staffing continually.
I have to assume this is just the dumbest of the criminals that are getting caught. I don't know why it takes 2K cases to determine "hey, this might not be above board...".
They must really want to use this tech on us if they're willing to throw their own under the bus for using it "wrong".
Regardless, hemming and hawing about lack of access controls and rogue (i.e. not using to do their job properly) cops is implicitly saying that this system could/would/should exist if it has "proper" access controls, whatever that means. It's like seeing a slave labor gulag and saying that the prisoners need better recreation ad more frequent laundry as if that would make it not fundamentally a gulag. To say things like access controls need to be fixed or tied to warrants is advocating for turd polishing. Even with proper access controls the purpose of these systems is to create misery at the hands of the state. The turd is still a turd even if it's shiny.
>“It’s a very effective tool and we don’t want to be judged on the poor decisions made by one officer.”
Yeah, I bet you don't.
This is just a drop in the bucket. There have been at least 50 cops charged with using flock data to stalk ex partners and women they are interested in!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/08/02/how-pol...
With all of the privacy concerns of Flock, at least in the interim it’s a useful honeypot for criminal law enforcement.
Completely agree that there is a possible silver lining of exposing some of these. However, even if they get fired from this department, they often just get hired later by their buddies in the neighboring county.
Public records and databases available to citizens is a control against these folks getting hired again in positions of power and trust in the future. It is a form of append only public distributed trust ledger. Correlate such datasets against your local law enforcement staffing continually.
The IJ Database of ALPR Abuse - https://ij.org/the-ij-database-of-alpr-abuse/ (181 incidents documented, as of this comment)
> Police officer *arrested* after tracking ex-girlfriend on Flock over 2k times
I have to assume this is just the dumbest of the criminals that are getting caught. I don't know why it takes 2K cases to determine "hey, this might not be above board...".