Home » About » ESGC At A Glance » Policies & Procedures » Flock Camera License Plate Reader Usage Policy

Approved by President's Cabinet 8/7/24

I. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance for the usage of Flock Cameras by members of the East Georgia State College Police Department. East Georgia State College has strategically placed Flock Cameras at all entrances to the Swainsboro Campus.

II. Policy

It is the policy of East Georgia State College to use Flock Cameras for investigative purposes, crime prevention, and prosecution of crimes on East Georgia State College property and within the juridiction of the East Georgia State College Police Department. All usage of the Flock Camera System to include cameras owned by other agencies in which East Georgia State College has permission to use will be only used for official law enforcement purposes.

III. Definitions

    1. Flock Camera: Flock-branded License Plate Readers (LPR)
    2. Flock: An artificial intelligence supported system comprising of Flock Cameras, a web-based tool to utilize the cameras, and all other Flock branded products usable by the Department
    3. Flock Network: All Flock cameras the Department has access to, including from other agencies
    4. GCIC: Georgia Crime Information Center
    5. NCIC: National Crime Information Center
    6. Hot List: List containing vehicles of interest, stolen vehicles, etc.
    7. Admin: Role assigned in the web-based Flock tool that gives full control of East Georgia State College Flock
    8. User: Role assigned in the web-based Flock tool that gives limited access of Department Flock

IV. Procedures

Only members of the East Georgia State College Police Department whose jobs require the use of Flock shall be granted access to the system. Emanuel County E-911 communications officers may be granted User access to the system for monitoring and dispatch purposes. The Chief of Police or his designee shall designate at least two Administrators for Flock, so that if one loses access, the other can still access needed controls. All other members of the Department who require access to Flock shall be assigned the role of User. Flock may only be accessed by Emanuel County E-911 devices and East Georgia State College owned devices.

      1. Responsibilities of Employees Using Flock
        1. Flock may only be used for official law enforcement purposes and under no circumstances be used for personal reasons.
        2. Information retrieved from Flock shall be treated as sensitive material and any release of the information outside of law enforcement must be authorized by the Chief of Police or his/her designee.
        3. Dispatch shall keep the web-based Flock tool open and logged in (with relevant alerts enabled) so alerts can be properly received in a timely manner. 
        4. Any alerts or information the Department or E-911 receives from Flock that result from NCIC or GCIC will be treated following the relevant NCIC/GCIC policies and laws.
        5. All employees with access to Flock shall be required to sign an East Georgia State College Police Department Flock Camera System Confidentiality and User Security Agreement.

          Any license plate reads and any subsequent information (such as alerts) should be verified by officers through communications once in contact with a subject vehicle and before taking action on a vehicle or its occupants.
      2. Role Settings
        1. Admin settings will be set so that Admins have access to all available cameras and all setting options are enabled.
        2. User settings will be set so Users have access to all available cameras and only the following are enabled:
          1. Search
          2. Lookup
          3. Hot List
          4. Custom Hot List Access
          5. Vehicle Description Alerts
      3. Utilizing the Flock Search Tool
        1. While it is not required, it is recommended that all employees who will use Flock be trained on the abilities and limitations of Flock.
        2. To access the Flock search tool, employees shall go to https://search.flocksafety.com/ and log in.
        3. It is recommended users only search the cameras relevant to their search area, rather than all cameras available. This avoids superfluous use of other agencies’ Flock.
        4. When running a search, users are required to enter a search reason. Users shall include an East Georgia State College Police case number / Emanuel County E-911 CAD number (if available), operator name, and a brief title of the incident type. For example if you are searching for a vehicle involved in a hit and run, you could put the search reason as: “202402140100 - NAME- hit and run.” The purpose of this is so the audit log can accurately track search reasons. Any department, including external agencies, can audit the searches users conduct using their Flock cameras.
        5. It is recommended that users begin their search for a vehicle as specifically as possible, using all relevant search filters. However, if there are no usable results, the user should begin eliminating filters that may be causing Flock to not recognize the subject vehicle.
      4. Utilizing the Alerts/Hot List Tool
        1. Flock allows users to select which alerts will be sent to them and the method those alerts will be sent. Users may select which alerts they wish to receive, if any. However, it is recommended that all alerts that could potentially protect life be enabled.
        2. Dispatch shall have all alerts enabled for all College cameras and set to email and dedicated cell phone delivery, but may choose to disable Georgia Department of Revenue Suspended/Expired alerts.
        3. When a notification from the Hot List is received from the Flock system the on-duty communications officer shall review the notification and proceed with dispatch protocols for the officer on duty. At minimum, the communications officer shall relay sufficient information (i.e make, model color, tag) to the officer on duty as a BOLO.
        4. These notifications shall be placed into the CAD and designated as “Flock notification” and entered under the code “Flock”.
        5. Alerts sent via SMS may only be sent to College owned cell phones due to the alerts potentially containing NCIC/GCIC information.  
        6. Officer Response - On duty officers dispatched to this call are to treat this as “information” not a crime in progress until independent verification of the vehicle is made in or around East Georgia State College property and jurisdiction.

          The responding officer should check all parking lots near and around the campus for the vehicle. Officers are not authorized to search more than the 500 yards off campus to investigate a notification.
      5. Utilizing Custom Hot Lists
        1. Users may create custom Hot List that enable them to receive alerts when specific vehicle license plates are seen passing Department Flock cameras.
          1. When creating a custom hot list, users are to put the case number and a brief title describing what the case is as the “List Name.”
          2. When adding an entry to the custom Hot List, users are to list the “Reason” as the name of the person of interest (if identified) and a brief description on why this entry exists. For example, if you are entering a custom Hot List entry for a suspicious vehicle with a known driver who has been reported loitering around reidence halls, you could write the reason as: Jon Doe - multiple suspicious vehicle reports at residence hall.”
      6. Trespassed Persons Custom Hot List
        1. To help promote a safe campus environment, the East Georgia State College Police Department will create and maintain a custom Hot List for actively trespassed persons with known vehicles. This list is to be created and maintained by the Chief of Police or his /her designee.
        2. It is encouraged that officers who are trespassing someone from East Georgia State College property, if possible, try to ascertain what vehicle the subject drives including the plate state and number so it can be entered into Flock.
        3. Each entry of this custom Hot List shall have the “Reason” as the trespassed person’s name.
        4. Each entry shall list the case number(s) that are related to the trespass.
        5. Each entry shall have an expiration date set to be the date that the trespass warning expires.
        6. If a trespass warning is voided before it expires it is the responsibility of the employee voiding the trespass to notify the Flock Admin who maintains the Trespassed Persons Hot List of such voiding so that the Hot List can be updated. Failure to notify for the removal of the entry could result in confusion if the person is alerted as being on East Georgia State College property.
      7. Protective Orders Hot List
        1. To help promote a safe campus environment, the East Georgia State College Police Department will create and maintain a custom Hot List for persons (with known vehicles) that have active protective orders or the like issued against them that are brought to the Department for awareness. This list is to be created by the Chief of Police or his/her designee that is a Flock Admin.
        2. It is the responsibility of the responding officer who is made aware of the protective order or the like to notify the Flock user who maintains the Protective Orders Hot List of such order with the needed information so it can be entered into Flock. The responding officer needs to ascertain the vehicle the subject drives with the plate state and number, if known to the reporting party.
        3. Each entry shall have the “Reason” as the trespassed person’s name.
        4. Each entry shall list the case number(s) that are related to the trespass.
        5. Each entry shall have an expiration date set to be the date that the trespass warning expires.
      8. Utilizing the Admin Functions
        1. Employees with Admin roles in Flock have the ability to make many changes to East Georgia State College Flock such as adding/deleting users, allowing external agencies access to East Georgia State College Flock, customizing User access, adding integrations with external systems, and changing Department information.
        2. Admins may add/delete users as needed. It is the responsibility of the East Georgia State College Police Sergeant to notify the Chief of Police of any needed changes in user access. For example, if a new hire needs access or someone leaves the department. In the event someone leaves employment with the Department, the Police Sergeant shall promptly notify the Chief of Police so that User can be removed from being able to access Flock.
        3. Flock allows cell phone numbers to be added to users’ profiles so alerts can be sent via email and text message. Due to the sensitive nature of Flock information, only East Georgia State College Police Department issued cell phones are permitted to be used for Flock.
        4. To promote the sharing of intelligence and information between law enforcement partners, Admins will grant access to East Georgia State College Flock cameras to any law enforcement agency that requests access, unless otherwise directed by the Chief of Police or his/her designee. Admins will also be responsible for requesting access to other agencies’ Flock to expand the East Georgia State College Police Department’s Flock Network.
        5. Admins may only add integrations or change Department information after written approval by the Chief of Police or his/her designee.

System Confidentiality and User Security Agreement (PDF)