December 5, 2024
To: President Carrie Hartman and members of City Council
Through: Wade Kapszukiewicz, Mayor
Karen Poore, Deputy Chief of Staff
From: Michael C. Troendle, Chief of Police
Subject: Referral #142-24, dated December 4, 2024
REFERRAL:
Where else have they (Flock) operated these (Drone) tests and when was the program first launched? What data do they retain and how do they protect civil liberties of residents?
RESPONSE:
Flock has customers around the country using the pilot program. A few examples are: Redondo Beach Police Department; Hawthorne Police Department; Azusa Police Department; Alhambra Police Department; Elk Grove Police Department and Dunwoody Police Department. Deployments are currently in process with the following agencies: Tulsa Police Department; Prosper Police Department; Vacaville Police Department; Mesa Police Department and Perth Amboy Police Department.
The company was founded in March of 2023 and officially launched the product in October of 2023. However, the team has decades of experience in Drone as First Responder programs and brought together the best in the industry so even though the company was young when they were acquired by Flock Safety, they have a lot of experience in public safety, software, and drones.
Flock does not retain any of our data.
Civil liberties are protected through a combination of technology and Standard Operating Procedures. For example, when the drone is in transit to a call for service, the proper protocol is to keep the camera pointed at the horizon until you are on scene. Also, the drone is only deployed to calls for service and does not fly proactively.
Flock has a community engagement dashboard that highlights all of the flights and success metrics of the program.