Leaked Guide Reveals Flock Safety's Strategy to Use Police as Lobbyists

Leaked documents obtained by 404 Media reveal that Flock Safety, a provider of automated license plate reader technology, has issued a coaching guide to police departments designed to help them convince city councils to purchase or maintain its surveillance systems, as 404 Media first reported.

According to 404 Media, the handbook instructs law enforcement to "own the narrative" by briefing city managers and council members before public comment periods occur. The guide, associated with a webinar titled "How to Speak to City Councils: Meeting the Moment with Confidence," advises police to avoid arguing with critics who label the technology as "mass surveillance," as the company believes such opponents cannot be convinced otherwise. Instead, Flock recommends a "carefully scripted presentation" that frames the technology as a tool for community safety.

To address financial concerns, the guide suggests police reframe the discussion away from the cost of the cameras and toward "the cost of unresolved crime." CEO Garrett Langley has previously attributed public opposition to an "era of unprecedented misinformation," a sentiment echoed in the guide's suggestion that critics simply do not understand how the system is governed.

Sarah T. Hamid, director of strategic campaigns at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told 404 Media that Flock is effectively scripting the public case for its own products, treating public trust as a "messaging problem" rather than a governance issue. This strategy comes amid investigations by 404 Media into documented abuses of the technology, including the surveillance of protesters, the tracking of a woman who had an abortion in Texas, and the transfer of data to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in violation of certain sanctuary laws.