Updated

Updated · KABC-TV · Jul 23

Flock CEO Defends 30-Day Plate Data Retention as LAPD Suspends 3-Year Camera Partnership

Updated

Updated · KABC-TV · Jul 23

Flock CEO Defends 30-Day Plate Data Retention as LAPD Suspends 3-Year Camera Partnership

Q: LAPD cut ties, so who now controls the 138 Flock cameras still watching Los Angeles and accessing their data?

Right now, LAPD does not control those 138 Flock cameras or have routine access to their data. The cameras remain in place and are operated through Flock Safety’s system, with the footage and plate-read data stored in Flock’s cloud while contract talks continue. Control is split in practice. Flock Safety owns and runs the camera network infrastructure, but many of the cameras are installed for local customers such as homeowners’ associations, businesses or other private entities that agreed to use the service. Those customers generally control whether their camera feeds are shared with police. What LAPD lost when it ended the partnership was its regular, direct access to the citywide data stream from those 138 cameras. That distinction is central to the dispute. LAPD suspended the relationship because it said the contract did not adequately settle who owns the data, how it is secured, and who it can be shared with. The department is seeking new terms that would give LAPD ownership of any data and metadata collected for its use and bar Flock from sharing, selling or using it for AI training. Until a new agreement is signed, the practical answer is that Flock is holding the data in its cloud system, the private camera customers still control sharing settings for their own devices, and LAPD is on the outside looking in unless access is restored under a revised contract. Flock says data is typically retained for 30 days.

3 articles · Updated · KABC-TV · Jul 23

LAPD halted its three-year use of Flock Safety cameras until privacy, security, data and sharing concerns are resolved in a contract, the department's chief information officer said.
Garrett Langley said he wants the system turned back on after policies are tightened, arguing Flock's cameras take static images of cars, read license plates and generally keep that data for 30 days.
Flock says the system does not use facial recognition or identify drivers, but residents and privacy advocates still warn that widespread camera coverage can track everyday movements.
Dozens of Flock cameras remain active across Los Angeles County and tens of thousands nationwide, leaving the broader fight over surveillance and public-safety benefits far from settled.