GAINESVILLE, Ga. — On the heels of announcing another deputy’s resignation amid allegations of Flock Safety misuse, Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch issued a statement both denouncing the system’s past lack of safeguards and defending its value as an investigative tool.
The statement came as the sheriff’s office completed an internal review that found seven employees had accessed Flock data for reasons unrelated to law enforcement. Three were fired, and four resigned while under investigation. All seven cases have been referred for possible criminal charges and professional certification reviews, according to Sheriff Couch.
“Over several weeks, law enforcement across the country has dealt with public fallout over misuse of the Flock Safety system,” Couch said. “The Hall County Sheriff’s Office has had to address negligent use of Flock in our own agency. We have not hidden from it and have taken appropriate action in each of the seven cases uncovered in a widespread audit of our Flock system.”
Enough blame to go around
Couch blamed both law enforcement and Flock Safety for failing to prevent the misuse.
“As a profession, law enforcement failed, and as a company, Flock failed from the beginning,” he said. “If your company name has the word safety in it, your products should include safeguards. From the outset, Flock did not provide audit tools for agencies and only recently introduced them. Too many officers across the country and here at home used the time without oversight to misuse the system.”
Couch said the sheriff’s office and Flock also should have done more to educate the public about the technology’s capabilities and limitations. Despite his criticism, he defended Flock as a useful investigative tool when used appropriately.
“Additionally, our agency and the company should have been proactive in educating the community on the benefits and limits of the system,” Couch said. “While I’m critical of Flock’s previous lack of safeguards, I have witnessed the benefits of its use in investigations. Our investigators have solved cases because of our access to the system. One recent instance helped lead them to a murder suspect who ultimately was arrested hundreds of miles away. That success can be attributed to solid police work and the professional use of a good tool.”
“I believe we cannot discount the positive outcomes Flock can help deliver; however, we must put our own guardrails in place to ensure we’re using it correctly.”
7 steps to safeguard system
Couch outlined seven actions taken by the sheriff’s office in response to the audit:
1. We 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 on September 4, 2026, based on the audit provided to us by Flock Safety. The irregularities were reported directly to us so we could further analyze the data. Our Internal Affairs (IA) Unit reviewed 758 Flock searches. IA flagged 85 as anomalous or suspicious in nature.
2. We made sure there was 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀. Those who violated policy were terminated or resigned while under investigation.
3. While the sheriff’s office terminated employees or accepted their resignations for policy violations, 𝘄𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation or to the Hall County Solicitor for review and possible charges.
4. All 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 (𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧) 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 for professional and certification review. Pending review, it is possible the former employees may lose their officer certifications.
5. We have 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. Every vehicle search must now be tied to a specific criminal case and offense type before it can be submitted. In addition, restricted access on the number of users in the agency has gone from 124 to only 24. Those 24 users must undergo specialized training.
6. We have 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺-𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀. Flock will now require the labeling of every search with a criminal case number and will implement an automatic review for abnormal search activities. Data retention has been shortened from 30 days to seven (7) days, unless the data is specifically needed as evidence in an investigation.
7. We have 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆. Our Transparency Portal is open to the public on our website daily. We use Flock to capture objective evidence without compromising individual privacy and only conduct searches to solve crimes after they have occurred.
“When used correctly, lawfully and honestly, Flock is an investigative tool, not an invasion of privacy,” Couch said. “Should there be policies outlining its proper use with accountability and consequences for violations? Absolutely.”
The good and bad of it
The sheriff said misuse of the technology should be distinguished from its legitimate use in criminal investigations.
“I want to be very clear that misuse of a tool and legitimate use of a tool are two very different conversations,” Couch said. “The system alone does not solve cases. It doesn’t give us probable cause, warrants when required, evidence, interviews or good old-fashioned police work. Quite simply, it is another lead. Sometimes that lead takes us from ‘we have no idea where they went’ to locating a suspect, or more importantly, finding a missing person we desperately need to locate.”
“The answer to potential misuse isn’t always eliminating the tool,” Couch added. “Sometimes it’s making sure the people entrusted with it are using it correctly and holding them accountable when they don’t.”
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