SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Flock Safety says its license plate readers help solve crime. Its CEO’s defense, offered on a San Francisco stage, began with a concession. “Flock is far from perfect. I’m far from perfect,” Garrett Langley said Wednesday at TechCrunch Disrupt. "Too often as a societ y, we judge technology not on how it compares to the past, but how it compares to perfect."  Activists protest Flock Safety during TechCrunch conference on Oct. 14, 2026. Just outside the Moscone Center, activists held signs reading “Get The Flock Out,” read aloud passages from Orwell’s 1984 and stopped passersby to ask what they’d accept in the name of public safety. They also protested the event for giving Langley a stage.   “TechCrunch’s invitation of Garrett Langley to be a speaker at their event is indicative of the connection between the San Francisco tech industry and national surveillance companies,” said Zachary Schwartz, an organizer for DeFlock, tracking Flock cameras through an open-source map.  What do Flock cameras look for? Speaking onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt, Langley said, “We capture every car regardless of who’s inside." Flock's license plate reader cameras photograph every passing plate, creating a searchable record of vehicle movements that police can use to investigate crimes. They are not outfitted with facial recognition technology. Hollywood A-lister Mark Wahlberg draws huge crowd at SF tech event, talks about AI in film Flock's lesser-known audio detection tool Courtesy: Flock Safety TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief Connie Loizos pressed Langley on some of Flock’s lesser-known products, including Raven, an audio-detection system that uses acoustic sensors to detect gunfire and “other disruptive community events,” according to the company’s website. Asked what sounds Raven can detect, Langley insisted it picks up “only gunshots.” But Flock’s website lists sideshows, crashes and fireworks as possible triggers. Last year, Raven marketing materials indicated the system could also detect “screaming” and “distress.” Flock has said it removed those capabilities, which involved human-voice detection, following privacy concerns. October 15, 2026 How is Raven differents from other gunshot detectors? Raven is designed to work with Flock cameras during a crime. According to Flock's website, "Sound alerts are linked with nearby vehicles and footage in real time to help teams surface leads fast."  It's not immediately clear how many Raven audio detectors are currently deployed. Asked about the number onstage, Langley compared its nationwide footprint to that of ShotSpotter, a gunshot-detection system with roughly 25,000 sensors. ShotSpotter detectors are common in the Bay Area, including San Francisco. SFPD has said they are concentrated in areas with historical patterns of gun violence, like the Bayview and South of Market (SoMa).  ShotSpotter is designed to detect gunfire and get law enforcement to the scene quickly. Flock's Raven, on the other hand, can link an audio alert to nearby vehicles and camera footage, potentially giving investigators more information about an incident.  When it comes to imperfect data — is more better? As concerns over surveillance grow, more people are intentionally seeking out systems that do less.  Many jurisdictions have opted to end their contracts with Flock amid growing backlash. Some have signed with less-scandalized competitors that do not have such an extensive data sharing network. In August, Antioch voted to enter into a new contract with Axon for its competing license plate readers. Police pushed for the change, explaining how the current contract with Flock opens up city data to an unnecessarily wide audience and Axon could be a more secure alternative. "With Flock we opt into a network of sharing at the state level. At Axon, if anybody wants to share data with us, they have to make a specific request of us and it has to be reciprocated by us. It's not just one-to-one, or us opting into a whole network," said Police Lieutenant Michael Mellone. The city council approved the change unanimously, with one councilmember saying "My main position right now is I want to see Flock eliminated."  Flock pushes new data safeguards Under state law, it's illegal for federal agencies or out-of-state police to access the network. However, audits and lawsuits have revealed instances of it happening anyway, in cities like San Francisco, Mountain View and El Cerrito.  There has also been misuse of Flock within departments, including in San Jose, where an off-duty police officer accessed Flock data on his personal device. That led to the officer's firing and a policy change.  Police officers are supposed to enter a case number to justify their access of the system, but critics argue that isn't a fullproof system to prevent bad actors.  Langley speaks onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco on Oct. 14, 2026. Some have suggested requiring police officers to obtain a warrant from a judge. When asked about it at TechCrunch, Langley said it likely wouldn't be feasible, but said the company is looking at new safeguards.  "You can't force a judge to give you a warrant," said Langley. "If the idea is to curb abuse, there's a way to do that that doesn't disrupt the legal system, that doesn't disrupt the efficacy and flow of a police department that's already understaffed, but takes abuse out of the equation and that's something we're very focused on right now."  Flock says it is working on new safeguards, including a policy set to take effect in January under which data will automatically be deleted after seven days, unless detectives preserve it for an active criminal investigation. But questions remain about how the company should respond when its technology is misused by the agencies it serves — and whether its safeguards are enough to prevent future abuse. Langley said Flock would not work with clients that violate the law, though he acknowledged that deciding when to "fire the customer" remains an ongoing debate within the company.  "If you believe, which we do at Flock, that we are very net positive for society — should we be taking our product away from a community that needs it?" questioned Langley. "Millions and millions of people have a better life today because Flock exists. Clearly we've made our fair share of mistakes and there's some folks who disagree with what we do but it's worth it because one day they might be a victim — and that would be horrible, but they'd thank Flock when their case got solved."  ...read more read less