In October of 2021, the Courier sat down with the public information officers (PIOs) from the Cobb County Police Department and the Marietta Police Department at Cool Beans, the popular coffee shop on Marietta Square and talked about automatic license plate readers that were spreading across the county (better known as Flock cameras after the dominant company in the business, Flock Safety). Read the article we published at that time here.
The PIOs outlined the advantages of the readers in solving crimes, and subsequent news stories over the past five years have proven that the cameras are indeed effective in capturing and prosecuting suspects.
But there are also downsides. Instances of abuse have been widespread, including the recent arrest of a former Acworth police officer who was booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center for alleged misuse of the cameras in both Cobb and during his subsequent employment at the Emerson Police Department.
About the downside of Flock cameras
So what are “Flock cameras”?
“Flock cameras” are automated license plate readers manufactured by Flock Safety. The cameras photograph passing vehicles and record their license plates, locations, identifying features and the times they were observed.
Police can use the records to search for stolen vehicles, missing people and criminal suspects.
However, because agencies can share information through Flock’s nationwide network, the system can also be used to reconstruct a person’s movements even when that person is not suspected of a crime.
Civil-liberties organizations argue that this amounts to widespread surveillance of ordinary motorists, often without a warrant, meaningful public oversight or strong restrictions on how the information may be used. Investigations have found officers searching license plate databases for personal reasons, including monitoring romantic partners or helping acquaintances track women.
The technology has also raised concerns about agencies using improperly broad searches, entering plates into watchlists without adequate justification, or sharing records with immigration and out-of-state authorities. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has documented questionable and unauthorized uses of automated license plate readers, while the American Civil Liberties Union argues that interconnected systems such as Flock create detailed records of people’s movements.
Flock Safety and police departments say audit logs, limited data-retention periods and access controls can discourage or uncover misuse.
Critics counter that audits generally identify abuse only after it occurs and that safeguards vary considerably among agencies. They have called for warrants for many searches, strict limits on data sharing and retention, regular independent audits, public reporting and penalties for unauthorized access.
Editor’s note: AI was used in the production of this article. To read about when and why we made use of AI, read our article “How, When and Why the Cobb County Courier uses AI.”