What is the likelihood that Flock is collecting data for other parties than just the police forces that sign up for it? Our federal surveillance state would have an interest in their cameras being everywhere regardless of local interest.
I expect them to pivot to selling tips for civil enforcement as the police stuff dries up due to public outcry. There's already companies in this space doing Flockish stuff but they're not as prolific. It's way less regulated than the law enforcement stuff Flock is currently selling to. The accused's rights are basically nil. Unlike policing (in the typical case, yes speed trap towns exist) it's potentially also a huge money maker for municipalities so if the customer gets hooked on the revenue public outcry is less likely to uproot it. Another "pro" (if you call it that) to civil enforcement is that way more useful idiots will go to bat for it.
On Wednesday, Flock Safety replaced an automatic license plate reading camera in Plymouth, MN after the city canceled its contract, the company failed to acknowledge the cancelation, and eventually the Chief of Police had the cameras unplugged.
Edit: Here's an example of the sort of slimy services Flock could start selling: https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/investigations/nbc-ct-respond...
I don’t see any attempt to obtain a comment from Hennepin County in this biased reporting.
https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/minneapolis-city-counc...