District 4 candidate Eric Jones proposed a moratorium on Flock Safety cameras and software this week, releasing a policy called “Stop Flock and End the Surveillance State” on Monday. Jones’s platform calls for an immediate halt to warrantless sharing of data collected by Flock and similar companies until Congressional oversight is established. He argues that government searches should require probable cause under the Fourth Amendment, a protection he asserts should not vanish when a private company provides the surveillance system.
Jones contended that while law enforcement requires effective tools, the involvement of a judge in such processes is a constitutional safeguard. He drew a distinction between traditional license plate readers, used for decades to catch car thieves, solve crimes, and find missing persons, and Flock Safety’s network. According to Jones, Flock has created a "private national database of civilian vehicle movement," searchable by agencies across the country without a warrant. He noted that 26 agencies across District 4's nine counties are already part of this network.
His policy explicitly prohibits private companies from constructing or selling databases of civilian vehicle movement or employing behavioral tracking tools on individuals not under investigation. This prohibition includes automatic exemptions for cases involving kidnappings, human trafficking, active shooters, and credible threats of violence or terrorism. Jones stated that a local camera should not serve as a nationwide search engine, emphasizing that Congress has left this technology "completely unregulated." He stressed that law enforcement should have necessary tools, but a judge must be present during their use, asserting that no corporation should build surveillance systems and simultaneously dictate their rules.
In contrast, California State Sheriffs’ Association President and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco expressed his organizations are “completely supportive” of Flock Safety and similar companies. Speaking as the CSSA president, Bianco explained law enforcement's support as being “anti-criminal.” He dismissed fears of citizens being "tracked" as unreasonable, suggesting that individuals might overestimate their importance in believing they are being tracked while shopping.
Bianco contended that Flock and comparable systems record vehicle movement rather than actively tracking individuals. He likened the technology to placing a deputy at every intersection with a cellphone. He highlighted the effectiveness of Flock cameras in assisting investigators, citing the June arrest in Moreno Valley where nearly $200,000 in stolen jewelry was found in a vehicle identified through the system. Bianco stressed that most crimes involve a vehicle, and Flock is utilized to find those vehicles. He also compared suspicions surrounding Flock technology to national disputes about data centers, stating that "100 percent of the negativity on data centers is founded by China." Regarding concerns about peace officers misusing the systems, Bianco asserted that Flock’s safeguards have already led to the capture of any "bad actor in uniform," drawing an analogy to teachers not calling for camera removal when a predator is caught at a school.
Jones is running for the District 4 seat against incumbent Mike Thompson, who is seeking his 15th term in Congress. Thompson’s office released a statement describing Jones as a San Francisco venture capitalist whose firm funded a controversial AI tech company using automated license plate readers. The statement also noted that Jones’s campaign was investigated by "the U.S. Capitol Police for surveilling his opponent’s home," concluding with a suggestion that voters "question whether this plan is anything more than lip service."