Stockton, California approves $3.15 million Flock drone program for emergency response amid privacy concerns
Stockton's city council approved a $3.15 million investment in Flock drones to serve as airborne first responders to 911 calls. The drones can arrive at incident scenes in 30 seconds to provide real-time information to officers, though the company has faced previous data-sharing controversies in other states. Residents and activists have raised concerns about surveillance, privacy, data control, and potential militarization of the police force.
Stockton, California has approved a $3.15 million investment in Flock drones manufactured by the company Flock, which will supplement the automatic license plate readers the city already uses. The drones are designed to respond to 911 calls within 30 seconds, providing police with real-time aerial views of incidents before officers arrive on scene. Police leadership argues the system will enhance officer safety and situational awareness, potentially allowing some incidents to be handled remotely. However, the decision has faced significant public opposition from residents and activist groups concerned about privacy, surveillance, data storage and sharing practices, and potential immigration enforcement applications. Flock has faced previous controversies, including sharing access with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Colorado and Illinois, and police using its cameras to track an abortion patient in Texas, though the company claims these practices have been discontinued. The company states that Stockton police will own 100% of collected data and that federal agencies are blocked from accessing it, but critics argue that private company control of data limits public transparency through freedom of information requests.
What's missing
The specific timeline for when the drones will be deployed, details about the scope of the drone surveillance area in Stockton, and information about what safeguards or oversight mechanisms (if any) the city council imposed on the program are not provided.
What different sources said
- TechRadarCenter
This California city just approved the use of Flock drones as first responders, but residents are worried about 'militarization and surveillance'
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