The company, known for its license plate reading tech and its drone business, has launched Audit Assistance, part of the company’s existing Trust and Compliance suite.
According to a statement from Flock, Audit Assistance “continuously monitors system activity and surfaces search patterns that fall outside an agency’s typical usage.”
That means administrators for agencies that use Flock’s products can “proactively” learn about uses of that tech that “warrants a closer look.”
The release comes as some local police departments question the accuracy of information from Flock about their license plate readers (LPRs), and as residents and public officials keep raising issues related to privacy and use of Flock tools in the nation’s ongoing immigration crackdown.
Illinois has accused Flock of illegally sharing data gathered by its products, though Flock has said it works hard to make sure its tech remains in compliance with relevant laws, and that the company’s job is not to “police the police.”
Flock says it has “always retained audit records” for every automated license plate recognition search. But the process, according to the company, typically is “manual, tedious and reactive.”
The new tool is more efficient and can save time for users, according to the statement.
“This audit tool ensures every LPR search is accountable, transparent and aligned with our department policies,” said Major Hudson Bull, commander of the Fairfax County, Va., Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center, in the statement. “By automating compliance we are strengthening public trust while advancing our use of technology to fight crime.”
