MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Flock Safety, the company behind AI-powered license plate reader cameras used by law enforcement agencies across the country, rolled out new safeguards Thursday amid growing pushback over privacy concerns and officer misuse.
The cameras track every vehicle that drives by and store that information in a database. Supporters say they help police solve crimes, but a growing number of people believe the nationwide network amounts to mass surveillance.
TMJ4 has reported on several instances where the technology failed or was abused. Most recently, Brookfield police pulled over a vehicle that had been previously flagged in the system when it should have been removed.
Milwaukee Police Department Detective Tehrangi Chapman is facing charges for allegedly using the system to track the movements of two people for personal reasons. His misconduct came to light while investigators were looking into another MPD officer, Josue Ayala, who took a plea deal after using the system to track his ex.
Watch: Flock rolls out new recommendations for law enforcement following growing surveillance and privacy concerns
With new safeguards rolling out, we used deflock.com to find Flock Safety cameras in Milwaukee and talked to homeowners who live near them.
"You didn't know that all these cameras existed?" Chief Investigative Reporter Jenna Rae asked Paul Host.
"No. No. You informed me," Host responded.
Host and his wife have lived near UWM's campus for more than two decades. Deflock.com identifies nearly 15 cameras in the area, with several surrounding his home and neighborhood.
Despite not knowing the cameras were nearby, Host said he was familiar with Flock's reputation.
"Hearing all the bad things about it, the way it's misused," Host said. "Those are the things that scare me."
Two UWM students said they share those concerns.
"I do understand why they have them," UWM student Samantha Hooyman said. "Unfortunately, there will be more people misusing it."
Thursday, Flock rolled out new recommendations that include reducing the data retention period from 30 days to 7 days, introducing "offense filtering for sharing" so cities can choose which agencies have access to their cameras and limit searches to certain serious crimes, and rolling out "audit assistance" — a safeguard designed to detect and flag abnormal activity for administrator review.
"That's something that like needs to be done and it should've been like already a thing when they first brought flock cameras out," UWM student Macey Trapp added.
All of the changes are recommendations only. Local law enforcement agencies are not required to follow them.
"That's ridiculous, that's ridiculous. That should not be happening at all," Trapp said.
"They're gonna abuse that recommendation," Hooyman echoed.
TMJ4 News reached out to Brookfield and Milwaukee police, along with the Waukesha County and Milwaukee County Sheriff's Offices. MPD was the only agency that responded, pointing to changes it made three months ago, including monthly audits and new training. MPD said it is reviewing Flock's new recommendations.
Host said the voluntary nature of the safeguards does little to ease his concerns.
"Overall I don't trust the watchers," Host said.
Hooyman echoed that skepticism.
"These regulations are needed, but is that actually gonna happen?" Hooyman said.
This story was reported on-air by Jenna Rae and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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