Surveillance firm Flock Safety mum on request to attend Suffolk Legislature's next committee meeting

Ahead of its gunfire detection system coming online in Suffolk County, Flock Safety executives won't say if they'll agree to come to a legislative meeting to address concerns about the firm's privacy and data-sharing policies.

Flock Safety, which operates a nationwide network of license plate reader cameras, is under scrutiny over the use of data collected, privacy issues and the potential for abuse. Proponents say the technology provides law enforcement a critical tool to use in certain investigations.

The request, prompted by Legis. Greg Doroski (D-Mattituck), comes weeks before Flock is set to roll out its gunfire detection technology across the county thanks to a $3.7 million deal with Suffolk police that's being finalized. It also comes amid reported vandalism of the company's cameras in Suffolk.

Doroski requested the company answer a series of questions by Aug. 27 that include whether federal agencies like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can access or have accessed data collected by cameras based in Suffolk.

Doroski said Tuesday that he has not yet gotten a response to the July 24 letter he sent requesting a company representative attend the Public Safety Committee meeting on Sept. 3. A Flock spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from Newsday on whether the company would agree to attend.

The letter says "numerous constituents" across the county have raised concerns about the cameras, which are used by the Suffolk County Police Department, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and local municipal departments.

"Suffolk County residents deserve to know who is watching them and where our data goes," Doroski wrote.

Presiding Officer Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville) said he was confident a Flock representative would attend an upcoming committee meeting. He said his chief of staff, William Duffy, was working on setting a date. Duffy said in an email Tuesday he had not yet sent a request but expects to do so next week when he returns to the office.

Last week, Flock announced changes to its policies to further protect privacy and add security and transparency safeguards.

One change cut the default data retention time from 30 days to seven, which the company says adds "a careful balance between safety and privacy."

The company is also offering a new filtering capability that would allow an agency to restrict what other departments can determine from searching data collected by the cameras, such as for stolen vehicles or missing persons.

A recently implemented audit assistance feature also enhances the ability to detect abnormal searches. The company attributed recent arrests of law enforcement officers who abused the system to the new technology. That feature will be required for all law enforcement customers to adopt by the end of the year, Flock said.

The company has maintained that its customers own their data and can decide how it is shared.

Doroski has also requested a summary for the prior 12 months of "all instances in which data collected by Suffolk County-based Flock cameras was accessed by agencies outside Suffolk County."

Several Flock license plate reader cameras have been vandalized in Southold Town, part of Doroski’s district, and most recently a camera in Greenport was splashed with red paint, Newsday previously reported.

County Executive Edward P. Romaine, a Republican, said in a recent interview that he’s "comfortable" with how the police department handles data collected from the license plate readers.

"That data is used to save lives," he said. "It’s used to catch the bad guys."

He said he’s "always open to counterargument" about the technology and will wait for guidance from the legislature if lawmakers decide to go in a different direction. 

By Joe Werkmeister

joe.werkmeister@newsday.com

Joe Werkmeister joined Newsday in 2022 and covers Suffolk County government and politics. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.

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