What the Flock
Boulder has many future forward tools at it’s disposal.
Flock and drones are two of the tools Boulder Police Department uses to help them address some of the safety concerns and priorities they’ve identified as risks to our community.
I’ve listened to people who are for, against and neutral about these tools.
Some would say that having these items saves lives, reduces disparities and improves emergency response time.
Others would say that these items pose a real risk to safety and privacy.
And another group is fine either way.
I wonder, what do you say? Please share in the comments what your thoughts are on the use of these devices.
For myself; research, reflection and listening has only deepned my worries about these tools.
Not because I don’t think there is a place, space and time for them - but because we as a society continue to move ever forward, leaning into the use of these tools without knowing the answers to very critical questions.
Data privacy - Nothing, and I do mean nothing in the time of AI is un-hackable, 100% secure and without flaws. And that assumes that every person interacting with these tools has the ethical standing to be unquestionable in their conduct. And our disproportionality in use of force and stops tells us that isn’t true.
Disproportionality - While there are arguments that say these tools reduce the risk of targeting certain demographics, I have yet to see data that supports that argument - here, in Boulder. On the contrary, there are significant disparities in who is stopped, and experiences force in this city. While Black/African Americans represent only 1-1.6% of the population, we represent 10% of the people targeted. Even on high commute days where visits from other places come to enjoy the city; we do not represent a presence large enough to account for this.
We Claim Sanctuary - But Flock does not create the environment for this to be a sanctuary city. So either, we are saying the word because it sounds nice and don’t really mean it or we are intentionally and strategically undermining a value we claim to hold and pretending we don’t see it. Our Immigrant neighbors and community members are highly vulnerable to the climate we are in and as someone who has worked in and advocated for Immigrant rights, loves my neighbors and community and believes in ideological consistency - I cannot justify making vulnerable people more vulnerable in order to create safety for those who already have the privilege of being systemically safer.
People for Sale - We are constantly being confronted with things that continue to strip us of our privacy, and profit off of us. I am making no claims that Flock is engaging this way, I am however saying that the fact that its possible is enough.
No Guardrails - We are propelling towards more technology without pausing to reflect on what protections are in place to ensure that people these tools are supposed to protect aren’t made vulnerable by their use. We make compromises about the safety for some in the interest of others, without any true measures of accountability and then seek forgiveness when things go bad. I was discussing this with someone and as they spoke I thought, this is very much so like the seatbelt. That tool became required because people died, some may see that as progress - I see that as a failure in our ability to be creative and ask why people needed to die to create safety measures to begin with? I want us to stop running towards the next thing without first creating the safety our most vulnerable community members need and deserve. They should not be the compromise we continue to justify making.
In 2026, Jobs Matter - How many jobs does each Flock camera take off the market and how are we responding to that job attrition in ways that support the housing and food security we say matters to us as a city? Or are we asking for middle income housing to meet the housing needs of our Police knowing their jobs will be at risk of being replaced by AI one day? AI doesn’t pay peoples rent… Yet.
It is for these reasons that I am presently against the use and adoption of Flock and drones being deployed in our city. If you can’t tell me how these tools keep our immigrant, and other vulnerable community members safe, or ensure our data is not at risk and there are ways we can as private community members hold liable Flock as a manufacturer or the city that chooses to use this risky tool then we should not be signing on to this at this time.
I will make a specific and targeted carve out for the use of drones on very rare occasions that involve incidents that are high risk and have the ability to endanger groups of people such as the shooting that took place at King Soopers in South Boulder. Like I said, there is practical utility for technology, but because we know better - we SHOULD do better.
Thank you to the Boulder Resident (who has asked to remain anonymous) for asking this question.
