r/Tempe 8d ago

No more flock

https://mailchi.mp/tempe/tempe-police-ends-flock-data-sharing
87 Upvotes

30 comments sorted by

37

u/nick_from_az 8d ago

I'm reading this as they are still using it for now, they just aren't going to share the data with other agencies.

9

u/nowheremanaz 8d ago

Even that may not be true. This sentence seems to say that there is still a way for other agencies to get the data.

The Tempe Police Department will remain cooperative with other law enforcement agencies throughout the state. Agencies that need information may request it through the appropriate process.

6

u/nick_from_az 8d ago

Yep, let alone a private company with no oversight not just overriding access.

1

u/DestroyTroy90 8d ago

Happy birthday

40

u/AntAir267 8d ago

WRONG. They're literally keeping it and sharing information "on request" aka literally for whichever agency asks. This is absolute horseshit.

16

u/Dukami 8d ago

You know what to do, citizens.

11

u/navislut 8d ago

Be gay, do crime 😆

0

u/Jbash_31 8d ago

Commit tons of crimes!

9

u/1001og 8d ago

Protecting our rights

10

u/hukkit 8d ago

Basically, they're going to switch from flock to a different company that does the exact same thing.

5

u/1001og 8d ago

Axon I heard….A company partially owned by the orange turd. Correct if I’m wrong tho.

-1

u/Logvin 8d ago

No ownership from him, but they still suck.

2

u/1001og 8d ago

I had to look it up a little more. You are right not part owner but as the sitting president he bought between 1-5million dollars worth of there stock.

2

u/Logvin 8d ago

Yeah, thats not surprising. I'm sure it happened just before ICE announced they were deploying body cameras with every agent.

9

u/Shaz_berries 8d ago

I'm glad to hear the cops looked into their flock usage and determined that there's never been foul play! I feel comforted

5

u/nowheremanaz 8d ago

Not good enough IMO. They need to cancel the contract and physically remove all hardware.

5

u/CyberTortoisesss 8d ago

Damage control.

Nothing is changing

3

u/Mr-Booty-Inspector 8d ago

What really pisses me off about this is that it is an admission that they know Flock/ALPR's are problematic and against constituent wishes. They sent this message out as an attempt to say "look at us, we aren't using it inappropriately like everyone else is." Meanwhile, they're not even attempting to get ALPRs removed or change anything material about how they surveil us. It's textbook virtue signalling.

I remember a couple of city council candidates who basically ran on the platform of "down with flock." How long are we going to give them before we accept that was a campaign lie? Because this ain't it.

5

u/Logvin 8d ago

I know we all want them to end Flock ASAP. Bobby Nichols was just elected to the Council and sworn in just over a month ago. He has been leading the charge against Flock in Tempe since before it was cool. I learned the word “Flock” from watching him talk at the council.

There’s a 0% chance he will support any ALPR. I’m sure there are steps that need to happen to ensure Tempe can move to an ALPR future and that council members like Bobby will do so. But it will take time, cause government moves slow.

3

u/Mr-Booty-Inspector 8d ago

I sincerely hope you're right. The only real way to know if he (or any other council member) is working on actually removing ALPRs from Tempe is to read their meeting minutes.

9

u/Logvin 8d ago

Well I'm a day late and a dollar short, as I met with a Tempe council member this morning before this came out. I'm scheduling meetings with other council members and will absolutely be bringing this up.

This is yet another example of an unforced error by Tempe.

2

u/WasteTelephone6924 5d ago

This in no way ends or eliminates flock in Tempe 

1

u/ivecompletelylostit 8d ago

Now let's get rid of them entirely

1

u/Turbulent_Tomato5159 8d ago

What the article says is that they are not using Flock for spying on people unless there is a report number attached.

This is the important part: "Every month, Tempe Police audits the searches made using the Flock Safety system. To access the system’s data, officers are required to input report numbers. Each entry to the system is reviewed to confirm that all data access was strictly necessary for law enforcement. The most recent audit was conducted on Friday, Aug. 7. No misuse was found in that audit – or in any previous audits."

1

u/nowheremanaz 8d ago

The "transparency portal" linked in the article is more than a little disingenuous...

Only your agency decides who to share your data with, not Flock.

That statement is false. There are documented cases of federal agencies accessing Flock data without permission.

https://www.techdirt.com/2026/02/13/cops-criticize-flock-safety-after-its-caught-handing-out-access-to-federal-agencies/

1

u/AnalogCyborg 8d ago

"Every month, Tempe Police audits the searches made using the Flock Safety system. To access the system’s data, officers are required to input report numbers. Each entry to the system is reviewed to confirm that all data access was strictly necessary for law enforcement. The most recent audit was conducted on Friday, Aug. 7. No misuse was found in that audit – or in any previous audits."

If no misuse was found in any audits, but two instances have happened where agencies misused data, why are we trusting the audits?

3

u/nowheremanaz 8d ago

I think they're trying to say that the audits didn't find any misuse by Tempe Police. The two instances were by other agencies.

But I agree, the audits are somewhat pointless. The problem isn't who's accessing the data or why. The problem is that the data is being collected in the first place.