Santa Rosa police chief faces packed house over controversial Flock cameras

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - A standing-room-only meeting in Santa Rosa regarding the controversial Flock cameras on Thursday expanded into an overflow crowd in the courtyard as the police chief fielded questions from a mostly critical audience calling for the system's removal.

143 Flock cameras

What we know:

The Santa Rosa Police Department currently operates 143 Automated License Plate Reader cameras provided by the vendor Flock. In response to community concerns, Santa Rosa Police Chief John Cregan, alongside his command and technical staff, hosted an early evening interactive forum both in person and online.

"I'm going to provide a comprehensive overview of our Automated License Place Reader Program, of our policies, of our procedures, our training," Cregan said.

Cregan emphasized that the primary goal of the meeting was to keep residents informed and involved.

"I want to hear from our community," Cregan said. "Are there ways that we can tighten up our policies, tighten our protocols and make sure that at the end of the day we have the trust of our community of our Automated License Plate Reader Program."

Packed house, strong objections

What they're saying:

Between 400 and 500 people attended the forum, with many voicing strong objections regarding data security and civil liberties.

"Flock isn't responsible. Flock lies. They've changed their contract to where they have an irrevocable license, in perpetuity, to our data," said Santa Rosa resident Jenny Gilpin. "That's not anything that our city council voted on."

Gilpin also raised concerns over how often external entities access local camera feeds, stating that while Santa Rosa police access the data approximately 5,000 times a month, outside agencies look at Santa Rosa Flock data 486,000 times a month.

Another resident, Paul Bulger, questioned the necessity and oversight of the system.

"Thousands of us that are being spied on, the math isn't any good," Bulger said. "I want to ask them why the hell do you have that and why didn't you ask us."

Cregan noted that the department has already modified several procedures in response to community demands, framing the meeting as an ongoing effort to build trust. Apart from one brief outburst, the audience remained calm and respectful throughout the discussion.

"This is just the first of many steps on this journey to hear what the true needs of our community are," Cregan said.

Broader scrutiny 

The backstory:

The forum comes amid broader scrutiny of the technology. 

Days earlier, a San Jose police officer was fired for allegedly misusing his department's Flock system to track a woman and share her location with a cousin accused of abusing her. 

Additionally, U.S. Senators Adam Schiff of California and Ron Wyden of Oregon sent a joint letter to Flock alleging the company failed to implement necessary safeguards to protect civil liberties. Flock stated it plans to respond to the lawmakers.