FLOCK IS DELIVERING RESULTS WHILE PROTECTING PRIVACY IN CRANSTON
CRANSTON, RI — Mayor Kenneth J. Hopkins today reaffirmed Cranston’s support for the Police Department’s use of Flock license plate reader technology, citing five years of measurable public safety results, significant investigative efficiencies, and strong privacy safeguards. Flock allows officers to identify critical leads faster, saving investigative hours, reducing personnel costs, and making better use of taxpayer funded police resources.
Since August 2021, Cranston Police have used Flock technology as an investigative tool to help officers recover stolen vehicles and property, locate wanted individuals and missing persons, and identify vehicles connected to criminal activity.
Over the last five years, Cranston Police reports that Flock technology has assisted in:
●107 stolen vehicles recovered
●110 stolen vehicle arrests
●98 warrant arrests
●18 missing persons located
●31 stolen property arrests
During that same timeframe, Cranston has achieved a 30 percent reduction in property crime.
“Those numbers represent real results for the people of Cranston,” said Mayor Hopkins. “They represent stolen vehicles returned to their owners, wanted individuals taken into custody, missing people brought home, and crimes solved. When technology can help our police officers do their jobs more effectively and make our neighborhoods safer, I believe we should use it responsibly.”
The technology continues to produce results in 2026. Year to date, Cranston Police has reported 290 Flock-related calls for service, resulting in seven stolen vehicles recovered, six stolen vehicle arrests, nine warrant arrests, one missing person located, and three stolen property arrests.
Mayor Hopkins also emphasized that public safety and privacy do not have to be competing priorities.
“Residents have every right to ask questions about technology used by their government, and they deserve clear answers,” Hopkins said. “Cranston’s use of Flock is targeted toward legitimate law enforcement purposes, subject to safeguards and oversight. It is not a system for monitoring the everyday activities of law-abiding residents.”
Flock cameras are stationary license plate readers. They capture vehicle and license plate images along with characteristics such as make, model and color. They do not use facial recognition, collect biometric information, record audio, identify drivers or passengers, or issue traffic citations.
Cranston Police Department policy currently limits retaining Flock information for 30 days and then it is deleted. Access is limited to authorized users for legitimate law enforcement purposes, a reason must be provided for searches, searches are logged, and the department conducts internal audits to guard against misuse.
Data collected by the Cranston Police Department is owned and controlled by the department and securely stored in an AWS GovCloud environment. The department does not sell Flock data or provide it to non-law enforcement organizations. The Cranston Police Department also does not share Flock data with federal agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Cranston police use Flock technology to assist with active criminal investigations and alerts involving vehicles connected to crimes. The cameras themselves do not continuously follow a vehicle or person as they travel.
“Our responsibility is to give Cranston police officers effective tools while making sure those tools are used appropriately,” Hopkins said. “The results demonstrate that Flock has become a valuable investigative resource. At the same time, our Police Department has established policies governing access, retention and appropriate use. That balance of public safety, accountability and transparency is important to me and my administration.”
The Cranston Police Department has previously discussed the technology publicly, including through a press conference and at a public City Council meeting. The department continues to provide information to residents and the media about how the technology works and the safeguards governing its use.
“Technology will never replace good police work, but it can help good police officers work faster and more effectively,” Hopkins concluded. “Our mission is straightforward: protect the people of Cranston, give our officers the tools they need to do their jobs, and maintain the public’s trust while doing it.”
