City of Inkster expanding use of Flock technology in new safety intiative

Inkster is making a 10-year commitment to expand its Flock safety network by adding more cameras, gunshot detection and a police drone.

Flock tells CBS News Detroit that the city's 10-year contract will include 20 license plate readers, five video security cameras, 48 gunshot detection devices and one drone. The city started with six Flock readers in 2023, and the majority of the new equipment is already installed.

"This technology is another step forward for our city. It's being proactive, preventing crime before it happens, responding faster when emergencies occur, and building a community that's united around safety and progress," said Inkster Mayor Byron Nolen.

The drone is expected to go live between mid-November and early December.

Police point to several cases where they say Flock has already made a difference, including a recent shooting.

"However, without Flock, we would not have been able to locate the suspect so soon. We also would not have been able to locate the suspect while we responded to other calls in the city as well," said Sgt. Montreal Clary.

But the expansion also brings privacy questions. Inkster says officers need an active investigation and case number to search Flock.

Routine data is deleted after 30 days unless it is preserved as evidence.

CBS News Detroit asked Flock how the system is designed to deal with misuse.

"It will flag potential misuse to an administrator for review, and soon we'll have a proactive lockout feature that will lock somebody out if the system deems there could be misuse until an administrator reviews the search," said spokesperson Courtney Terlecki.

Police Chief Tamika Jenkins says any employee found misusing the system would lose their job.

Inkster's transparency portal, which will show policies, usage and data-sharing information, is set to launch Nov. 1.