Eff Records Show Police Logged LMAO And IDK As Reasons For Flock Camera Searches
The search reason field exists to document why police pull surveillance data, so records showing it filled with jokes and insults suggest the accountability mechanism was decorative for the officers using it.
Reporting from 1 source: GIGAZINE.
Public records obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation show police officers entered strings like "LMAO," "IDK," "hehe," and "asdfg" as their stated reasons for searching Flock Safety's license plate camera network. The data also contains insults and random keyboard mashing. Departments in Colorado, California, and Missouri responded to the EFF with explanations that include counseling and a promised investigation.
The reason field in Flock Safety's license plate search system is meant to record why an officer pulled camera data. The EFF's public records request returned entries reading "LMAO," "LOL," "hehe," "haha," "idk," "tbd," plus random strings like "hjhjjkh" and "ghjhghjg," alongside insults including "d*ckhead," "sh*thead," "sexy," and "idiot." The Thornton Police Department in Colorado, which logged "driving around being weird," told the EFF the purpose was a "legitimate public safety purpose" and said officers now pick from a list. Richmond Police in California, which logged "hehe" and "idk," said the people involved received counseling.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.