Overview
- On Thursday, Flock required all law‑enforcement customers to enable its Audit Assistance tool, to enter a case number for searches, and to use offense‑filtering for cross‑jurisdictional sharing.
- The company cut its default data retention from 30 days to seven days while adding an 'Evidence Mode' that lets agencies preserve records tied to a case and an emergency override that will be flagged for review.
- Reporting and internal audits documented officers using the system for unauthorized personal searches, which led to resignations, firings and at least one Pasadena case where prosecutors declined charges and another resolved with surrender of a peace‑officer license.
- Civil‑liberties groups and legal experts said the technical fixes are useful but insufficient, arguing that agencies still control access and that statutory limits, warrants or independent audits are needed to prevent abuse.
- The announcement comes as more than 50 jurisdictions have paused or ended Flock contracts, cameras have been vandalized, and state and federal lawmakers and local auditors are moving to impose enforceable restrictions.