The announcement came after a routine audit revealed that out-of-state and federal agencies made queries into SFPD’s Flock license plate reader cameras network, despite state law prohibiting exactly this.
SFPD Chief Derrick Lew addressed the audit's findings at yesterday's Police Commission meeting.
“A query is just that. It's checking our system to see if there was an actual return," said Lew. "We don’t know of those queries what generated a real hit, therefore, we don’t know what was actually disseminated."
The data was originally queried by the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center, which then shared information with the Western States Information Network.
It was through these two entities that out-of-state agencies were able to make requests.
Lew noted that the audit's text did not indicate that queries were related to immigration enforcement or reproductive rights, and ICE and DHS were not involved. Still, California law does not allow law enforcement agencies to share Flock data with any external departments.
In the last year, almost 300 "improper inquiries" were made into San Francisco’s Flock network.
This news raises significant data and privacy concerns, particularly in the Bay Area. But, it's unlikely that SFPD will terminate their Flock contract entirely.
“ALPR [Automated License Plate Reader] has become an everyday tool for our officers," said Lew. "It is a very efficient way for us to disseminate information to our officers in real time, and it’s become a cornerstone of our work. I have to give it credit as far as reducing the overall crime and getting to these historic lows.”
Earlier this year, Santa Clara County ended its contract with Flock Safety. That happened after an audit done by the city of Mountain View found that multiple federal agencies accessed the city’s Flock data.
SFPD’s decision to suspend wider Flock access raises questions about other Bay Area police departments following suit.
KALW reached out to Oakland Police Department, Richmond Police Department and Berkeley Police Department regarding SFPD’s decision. Only Berkeley wrote back, saying “The Berkeley Police Department does not have a statement about this.”
