footnote4a

Mass surveillance, government contracts, and other bedtime reading.

Iowa DPS: Compliance Depends on Who's AskingImage by Ag Ku from Pixabay
Investigations

Iowa DPS: Compliance Depends on Who's Asking

DPS awarded a federal grant on a certification of compliance that was never in place. When a complaint exposed the gap, DPS' grant bureau chief quietly handed the grant recipient the missing paperwork, while declaring the complaint "unfounded."

By H.C. van Pelt2026-06-1110 min read
Policy & Legal

Flock Calls ALPR Information "Wholly Irrelevant" to Lawsuit About Policy on ALPR Information

Flock's system captures over 130 data fields. In court, Flock calls them "wholly irrelevant" to a lawsuit about whether it ever disclosed collecting them.

By H.C. van Pelt2026-06-03
Audit Log Analysis

New Castle, PA put Flock in its only Majority-Minority Neighborhood

Nearly three years of Flock event logs show New Castle, Pennsylvania concentrated all 31 of its surveillance devices in the city's only majority-minority census tract, and shows a group of officers running scores of plates through permanent, private watchlists without associated cases.

By H.C. van Pelt2026-05-18
Investigations

Never For General Patrol: Flock's Drone Proposition

Flock's November 2024 drone demo showed exactly what its 2026 product page denies. The Supreme Court already ruled on this in 2001.

By H.C. van Pelt2026-05-11

Recent reporting

Quick Takes

Thornton PD Investigated Itself and Found no Wrongdoing

Focusing only on the overall search count, not the substantive issues, Thornton PD cleared itself of wrongdoing.

By H.C. van Pelt2026-05-04
Investigations

We Have to Treat Everyone

In this webinar, a Flock sales lead tells hospital customers to add fired and laid-off healthcare workers to the watchlist.

By H.C. van Pelt2026-05-02
Policy & Legal

Under Construction: California Class Action Lawsuits

While the existing Flock suits move toward consolidation, a new one drops; this time against The Home Depot and its "gravely dangerous" use of ALPRs.

By H.C. van Pelt2026-05-02
Investigations

Welcome to Dunwoody's Virtual Human Zoo

Flock claimed explicit permission to view cameras where children play. Dunwoody says no such permission exists.

By Jason Hunyar2026-05-01

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