Overview
- Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones ordered the 61 Flock Safety cameras on precinct property taken offline and physically covered on Thursday, Oct. 8, affecting 13 license‑plate readers and 48 security cameras in parks and facilities.
- Flock representatives told Suffolk County lawmakers this week the system identifies vehicles not people, that Suffolk retains data for 30 days, and that the company set a new default retention of seven days for new customers.
- Reuters and other outlets reported Flock offered a voluntary separation program that will remove roughly 270 employees, about 18% of its workforce, with departures scheduled at the end of October.
- Investigations and audits earlier this year documented repeated improper officer searches, suspensions and resignations, and those misuse findings have driven local deactivations and access restrictions.
- The Precinct 4 shutdown follows a patchwork of responses — a Florida ban on ALPRs from state highways, a Texas funding freeze and upcoming county and state policy reviews — that could lead to tighter audit rules, access limits or new laws.