Police used joke reasons to search Flock plate database
Police in dozens of US departments entered jokes, nonsense, or left blank fields when justifying searches of Flock Safety's automated license plate reader system, according to an analysis by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The EFF found records of officers using reasons like 'LMAO,' 'IDK,' and random key mashing for thousands of searches. Flock modified the 'reason' box in late 2025 after these findings surfaced.
- Officers wrote jokes or gibberish in search justifications
- Thousands of searches lacked meaningful justification
- Searches happened across dozens of jurisdictions
- EFF analysis led Flock to change its system in 2025
Sources covering this
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