We want safety. Not surveillance. Can we trust Flock Safety?

About this episode

If you care about privacy, policing, tech ethics, or just want to understand who’s tracking your license plate and why — this episode is for you. It’s pretty safe to say we all want less crime — but what are we willing to trade for it? In this episode of Techishly Jenn, Emmy Award–winning journalist Jennifer Jolly steps into the rapidly expanding world of AI-powered safety tech — where license-plate readers scan our streets and data promises to solve crimes before we even know they’ve happened. Flock Safety — America’s fastest-growing surveillance company — has quietly installed more than 80,000 cameras across 6,000+ communities, from school zones to shopping centers. Valued at $7.5 billion, it’s the crime-fighting giant most people have never heard of…until now. Jennifer sits down with Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley to explore how license-plate readers, AI, drones, and data are changing modern policing — and what that means for safety, privacy, public trust, and everyday life. What starts as a straightforward Q&A with a well-messaged CEO, quickly becomes a deeper conversation about crime prevention, civil liberties, data transparency, and how much responsibility technology companies should (or should not) have in how their tools get used. This episode is part crime-tech explainer, part civil-liberties gut check — asking not just can we build this technology, but ultimately who’s responsible for how it gets used? It pulls back the curtain on the gadgets shaping our world — asking hard questions, while keeping it smart, human, and just a little bit funny. NOTE: This episode was recorded in August 2025

🔑 What You’ll Learn

• How Flock Safety became a $7.5B crime-tech powerhouse
• Why cities and neighborhoods are racing to install automated license-plate readers
• The controversies sparking lawsuits, watchdog warnings, and “Handmaid’s Tale vibes”
• Garrett Langley’s response to critics — and what he sees as the future of policing tech

📌 Episode Resources

• Jennifer’s YouTube video on Flock Safety
• Jennifer Jolly’s USA Today column: The $7.5 Billion Eye in the Sky
• Background on Flock Safety’s tech and controversies
• Follow Jennifer on Techish.com and Instagram

💬 Connect with Jenn

• Newsletter: Techish by Jennifer Jolly
• Instagram: @JennJolly
• YouTube: @TechishbyJenniferJolly
• TikTok: @JenniferJollyTechish
• Twitter/X: @JenniferJolly
• LinkedIn: Jennifer Jolly

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