Rahul Sidhu

Today, we announce the Flock Alpha, the most powerful and fully American-made public safety drone response system ever built. Five years ago, I stood on the rooftop of my police station and imagined this moment. There is no better feeling than seeing a vision come to life (I do not have kids yet).

@WereSo8ack @tjnahigian @garrytan That's why the cameras catch them.

@tjnahigian @rahul @garrytan Doubt. 65 iq car jackers don’t care about cameras.

@garrytan My block went from most car break ins in the country to very safe / no car break ins at all because a Flock camera was installed.

Many people are saying.

44% drop in major crimes. 54% drop in car thefts. In just 2 years. It’s a choice.

This was a misuse of our technology, and we were happy to hear that the officer was held accountable. We entrust our officers with tools to use deadly force, drive lights and sirens, and effect arrests. We hold them accountable when they misuse those tools as well. Our customers have the ultimate authority to activate/deactivate users in their system in accordance with their policies.

@rahul No abuse of this surveillance equipment would ever happen... oh wait x.com/mrgunsngear/st…

This stuff is a lot simpler than people think. Do we use modern technology to keep our communities safe? A license plate reader on a public roadway that locates the amber alert vehicle, or locates the shooter before they conduct the mass shooting. A gunshot detection sensor that directs responders to the victim bleeding out on the sidewalk. A drone that warns officers of the suspect who is hiding with a gun around the corner, ready to ambush them. This isn't even hyperbole. These are real (and recent) examples of Flock's technology protecting communities around the country.

@ilyasu Having an Indian last name is the worst crime you can commit on X, unfortunately. But it does make it easier to understand the type of person that has the opinion they have.

I get some mean messages when I post about certain things and, somewhat amusingly/sad, a substantial portion of them assume I'm Indian based on my name.

You're correct that ALPR cameras are typically constantly on, reading license plates to determine if a stolen vehicle, etc, drives past the camera. This is the point of the system. You're also correct that the data is stored in the cloud (although it's the agency's data, not ours). The data retention is based on legal requirements.

@rahul ALRs are like Siri. We get told they’re only used when called upon. Evidence shows us this is not the case. They’re used all the time. Flock, the ALR supplier, stores all the data it collects. I think you fundamentally misunderstand how technology works

I agree with your first sentence, and your general concerns re: power accountability for law enforcement. The courts have repeatedly ruled that ALPR systems are not unconstitutional. We entrust our police officers with far more powerful capabilities, like the ability to use deadly force or arrest others. We do this because we hold them accountable when they misuse these abilities. Is the argument that despite the above, we shouldn't entrust them with the ability to know if an amber alert vehicle has entered an intersection?

@rahul Every solution in the world is perfect if you remove human nature from the equation. Though, as we know from incidents already happening in America, it gives law enforcement more power to stalk and observe people, even when they’re innocent. That’s unconstitutional-4th amendment

I think it's certainly reasonable to want technology to keep us safe, as long as the technology is not violating our rights. A few things to clear up for others reading: 1. The term "warrantless tracking" implies that the police are accessing private information that would otherwise require a warrant. These are automated license plate readers (ALPR) on public roadways that are not accessing private information. It's akin to a police officer driving behind a vehicle on a public roadway and running the license plate. 2. The courts have ruled, on numerous occasions, that ALPR systems are not a violation of rights. Just saying that they are does not make that true. 3. All searches require justifications. All search history is auditable. The system is built around the accountability of its use, with an emphasis on civil-liberties safeguards. We are strong advocates for holding those who attempt to abuse the system accountable, just as I (as a former full-time cop) am an advocate for holding any officers accountable if they abuse their powers. 4. ALPR systems do not "track the movement of people", they capture the location of license plates/vehicles at moments in time, and they alert law enforcement if that license plate is relevant to a public safety issue (IE: amber alert, stolen vehicle, etc). GPS-tracking, cell-phone tracking, etc, tracks people's movements and requires a warrant to do so. These are two totally different things. 5. All systems are compliant with local/state/federal laws regarding data retention, which is commonly set to 30 days (unless the law requires otherwise).

@rahul Technology to keep us safe is a great idea. Technology that gives cops a warrantless way to track the movements of every man and woman in their jurisdiction is an absurd violation of our rights. Your attempt to conflate the two is plainly self serving bullshit.

@immad Congratulations!

@nikitabier A gun

Next week I’m headed to Tokyo to meet with the X Japan team. What is the most American thing I can bring them?

This is an important issue for voters to decide and it's important for citizens to hear the strongest arguments on each side. I believe the mayor of Austin sincerely wants to keep his city safe. x.com/glangley/statu…

@gabrielladb_ We do. The public safety agencies control access, users are permissioned by role, every search is logged, data is encrypted, and in most communities it’s automatically deleted after 30 days unless local law requires otherwise.

ANDREESSEN: “They couldn’t track the shooters in Austin because they turned off Flock for political reasons.” ROGAN: “The other problem with this is people are going to think this mass shooting was organized by Flock so they could get reinstated in Austin to bring in the surveillance state. I guarantee people are going to say we’re shills for Flock and are promoting a surveillance state. That’s the problem now that whenever there’s a mass shooting we just assume it’s a false flag. That’s where we’re at as a society.”

A tale of two cities with and without Flock over the weekend in Texas: "Austin had Flock and then turned it off.  And as a consequence, they were not able to find these guys." "These guys drove into some adjacent town up against Austin. And Flock was live in that town, and so Flock tagged them the minute they drove into that town, and then they caught the guys." "It's crazy to have the ability to solve crimes and stop crimes and not be able to use it." @pmarca with @joerogan

@CultLaser @SleeeeepyT @nikitabier There is nothing in our software that would alert officers of "suspicious route", etc. It doesn't make those types of assumptions (by design).

@SleeeeepyT @rahul @nikitabier I've been getting pulled over constantly since they installed them in my town. I suspect part of the reason is that I have to drive through the projects to get to the post office. Their system assumes lots of things, and then the people using their system also make assumptions.

Last year, the city of Austin turned off their Flock cameras as the result of a targeted misinformation campaign. This weekend, for nearly 24 hours, three suspects drove around Austin in stolen vehicles, undetected, conducting a shooting spree at 12 separate locations. They shot multiple people, houses, apartment buildings, businesses, and fire stations. They committed multiple robberies and car thefts during the spree. Despite a full manhunt involving 200 officers, with helicopter and K9 support, they weren't able to locate the suspects, and the spree continued. Luckily, the suspects drove into the Flock-supported city of Manor, TX. Manor is a small city with ~20k residents, and a fraction of Austin's budget. What they do have is modern technology and the ability not to fall victim to misinformation campaigns. After the suspects drove into Manor to continue their shooting spree, Manor PD located them almost immediately. The residents of Manor stayed safe. This is a tale of two cities. I love Austin. I have plenty of friends who live there. I myself almost moved there years ago. I'm glad that the shooting spree is over, but I just wish it never happened.

@Sentdex I was referencing our ALPR products since that was what was relevant to the Austin post. We sell other products as well, but they didn’t seem as relevant. We aren’t hiding that, they’re all on our website. I also don’t work in PR, I don’t think I’d be great at that job.

@rahul Okay but flock is more than an ALPR (auto license plate reader). Its really hard to fight the anti flock narrative when you got PR people trying this line. Takes only a moment to realize you're attempting to mislead people and then all chance of trust is lost.

@EnablerGPT Honestly, it's just easier to copy and paste. I didn't need to run this by legal, it's publicly verifiable information.

Go into this guy's replies and look at how many times this EXACT copy shows up. Flock's legal team was apparently *very* clear with him about the only approved wording he was allowed to use 😂