SALISBURY, Md. (WBFF) — Salisbury police have opened a transparency portal for their use of Flock Safety license plate cameras following reports that officers used the system to stalk former partners and criticism from residents and the Wicomico County NAACP.
The portal provides some answers about how the department uses the cameras but leaves other questions unresolved, including how long license plate data is retained and how safeguards against misuse will work.
Flock announced Aug. 13 that it would recommend limiting data retention to seven days and eventually require users to enter case codes, flag unusual searches and temporarily lock out users whose activity raises concerns. Existing customers must opt in to shorter retention periods, and Salisbury’s portal still lists a 30-day retention period.
The American Civil Liberties Union said shorter retention could help protect privacy but questioned whether the new safeguards would prevent abuse. Officers, the group said, could enter false case information, while Flock’s system for detecting suspicious searches has not undergone independent testing.
Read the full story on the Baltimore Sun.
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