Flock on Austin's path for safer public tech

Austin is revisiting how it evaluates public safety technology after local officials said automated license plate readers (LPRs) could have helped during a May investigation.

Why it's important: Flock Safety believes public safety isn't a zero-sum game — and with the right approach, Austin could become a national example of how municipalities can balance civil liberties with the need to keep residents safe.

The story: Last year, the Austin City Council declined to renew the city's automated license plate reader program amid resident concerns around immigration enforcement, privacy and surveillance.

City Council then passed the Transparent and Responsible Use of Surveillance Technology (TRUST) Act, which requires Council approval for procuring and using surveillance technology, including LPRs.

What you need to know: The TRUST Act, approved on April 23, mandates detailed privacy reviews before surveillance technology-related decisions in Council.

• The reviews must cover privacy guardrails, information collection and retention policies, and details about how the underlying tech works.
• Flock says its policies and privacy guardrails are designed to align with the TRUST Act's focus on oversight, transparency and accountability.

Flock Safety says its technology includes multiple trust and safety protections, including:

• Default 30-day data retention limits.
• Audit logs that cannot be edited.
• Role-based access controls for law enforcement users.
• Search restrictions are tied to ongoing investigations.
• Transparency portals and audit assistance tools.

How it's done: Unlike regular security cameras, which record video to capture context, Flock's LPR systems only capture still images to produce the clearest license plate results.

• Flock says its LPRs can capture license plates on vehicles moving up to 100 mph and as far as 75 feet away.
• The system can also categorize vehicles based on make, model, color, damage and alterations.

The impact: The company estimates its technology supports investigations nationwide and helps solve more than 700,000 crimes annually.

• Researchers at some Texas universities are also studying how LPR technology affects specific categories of crime.

What this means: As Austin considers whether ending its LPR program created operational gaps during a fast-moving operation, the city's TRUST Act creates a policy framework for evaluating public safety technology with local oversight and transparency standards.

• Modern LPR technology that combines advanced and proven security with strong and clear privacy protections may prove to be the city's path forward.

The takeaway: Austin's strong governance frameworks prove that advanced security technology can be used narrowly, transparently and accountably — and Flock builds systems that help keep everyone in check.

See how modern LPR technology supports safer communities.

This content was produced by Axios Creative House in partnership with Flock Safety and was not created by Axios newsroom staff.