"So far, just since August, we have been able to solve 31 felony cases, using just the Flock cameras," say Lieutenant Bill Whitaker, with the Antioch Police Department. "And we have been able to get back thousands of dollars worth of our community's property."
And in an effort to be more transparent, Antioch police launched a Flock camera portal on Thursday.
Transparency and accountability are some of the key provisions reached in the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the U.S. Department of Justice, following a racist texting scandal uncovered by the FBI. That lead to 40% of the police department being placed on paid leave and the eventual conviction of three Antioch officers.
"The DOJ agreement does talk about transparency. And the administration and the Antioch Police Department is very invested in transparency," says Lt. Whitaker. "This is one of the reasons why we put out the transparency portal."
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By using the portal, the public can access the data including how many reads were done, how many searches were conducted and by which agencies. Users can also see the associated case number and why a camera was looked up.
"We have nothing to hide. We want our community to see that," says Lt. Whitaker.
"Especially since the commission was formed, we've held a big stance on transparency," says Porshe Taylor, Chair of the Antioch Police Oversight Commission, which formed in the aftermath of the texting scandal.
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Taylor praised Antioch police for launching the portal.
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She says the commission and the city will continue to monitor and audit the system, especially around privacy concerns. Such as making sure flock data can't be accessed by out-of-state or federal agencies. Which is why some Bay Area cities recently terminated their Flock contracts.
"Also, what was highly significant to me, was if a Flock camera, for instances, targeted a person, and then cited that further investigation needed to be made, the officers then have to go in and notate why their investigation was a valid investigation," explains Taylor.
Taylor says the portal may not currently be very user-friendly, but says those improvements will be made over time.