We caught NYPD working with Flock

NYPD may not contract with Flock, but that hasn’t stopped officers from using the controversial surveillance tool.

Friend, NYPD may not contract with Flock, but that hasn’t stopped officers from using the controversial surveillance tool. In case you missed it, S.T.O.P. and our friends at LatinoJustice PRLDEF recently revealed that NYPD ran 1,710 Flock searches between March 2023 and December 2025. S.T.O.P. obtained this data through the national “Have I Been Flocked?” database. We found that NYPD has committed the same reporting failures that other disclosures of Flock data have shown: nearly a thousand searches left the reason for the search blank, only included boilerplate language, or omitted other critical information. After reading our report, New York Times journalist Maria Cramer released a story on Monday revealing that NYPD officers used Flock after the firm approached them with a free trial—without approval from NYPD executive leadership. In a follow-up story Tuesday, the New York Daily News shared that NYPD is reviewing the hundreds of instances of unauthorized Flock use. This is just one high profile example of how a private surveillance firm surreptitiously made its way into a public agency, with no regard for transparency or our city’s stance on their software. Whether NYPD leaders knew about it or not, we’re demanding they explain exactly how officers have used Flock to track New Yorkers on the road. Upon releasing the report, S.T.O.P. joined LatinoJustice in filing a public information request demanding NYPD disclose the extent of its previously unacknowledged relationship with Flock. That includes audit logs documenting NYPD searches of Flock’s license plate reader database; the name, rank, shield, and command of every officer who has been licensed to use Flock; and more information NYPD has been hiding. This is not a free trial for the latest streaming service or news subscription. New Yorkers’ freedom of movement is on the line, and we cannot let NYPD get away with using this dystopian tech under any circumstances. S.T.O.P. Happenings In another victory for public oversight, we’re thrilled to share that S.T.O.P. and our co-counsel, Gideon Oliver and Cohen & Green PLLC, have won on all counts in our most recent FOIL lawsuit against the NYPD. S.T.O.P. filed this case over a year ago, challenging NYPD’s constructive denial of thirteen of our Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests filed between August 2023 and November 2024. The judge has ordered NYPD to hand over 125,000 previously hidden public records by Monday, Oct. 5, granting us more of the information we need to fight back against their systems of mass surveillance. We expect NYPD to appeal and S.T.O.P. will continue to litigate the case until all records are produced. On Monday, S.T.O.P. hosted “Privacy For Profit: The New Surveillance Economy,” a conversation on how consumer privacy is traded for profit through surveillance and AI in New York City, made possible by DuckDuckGo and co-hosted by the Information Law Institute (ILI) at NYU School of Law. Moderated by award-winning investigative journalist and author, Julie Angwin, the panel featured Samuel A.A. Levine, NYC Commissioner for Consumer and Worker Protection; Darío Maestro, STOP Special Counsel; and Olivier Sylvain, Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law and former special advisor to the FTC Chair. The forum was attended by 50 journalists, activists, and researchers leading the fight against mass surveillance in New York City. On Thursday, S.T.O.P. Executive Director Michelle Dahl and S.T.O.P. Research Director Eleni Manis joined “The Growth of the Surveillance State in the Hamptons and Across the Country,” a panel hosted by Jim Vrettos and Asma Rashid, co-hosts of the “Radical Imagination — Real Talk in the Hamptons” podcast. The panel also featured Mac Muir, co-author of "Cop Cop: Breaking the Fixed System of American Policing,” and prominent criminal justice and privacy reporter Ali Winston. The discussion focused on the proliferation of Flock cameras on Long Island and across the country, as well as the escalating surveillance threats of AI, drones, and other spyware. In solidarity, Michelle Dahl Executive Director Share Tweet Forward Copyright © 2026 STOP, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: STOP 1350 Ave of the Americas Fl 2, Box 1089 New York, NY 10019 Add us to your address book. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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