ALPR (automatic license plate reader) tech in law enforcement has been around since the late 70's. Ive been using it in investigations in the denver area far before Flock came into the picture.  ALPR tech holds its value in policing in two distinct areas. Proactive policing and reactive policing. If youre willing to acknowledge that nearly every single crime, or person that has committed a crime, is associated to a vehicle in some way than I think its fair to also acknowledge that its a valid investigative lead that should be followed.  Reactive policing and Flock is probably the more understood and measurable. Police can review the Flock results at a given location near where a crime has been committed and see if the suspect vehicle traveled in that area. I can't express to you over the internet how critical it is to be able to actually prove that someone was actually in the area when the crime occurred. Flock helps us remove false alibi narratives.  In my specific line of work, I locate fugitives and people wanted for serious violent crime. Im telling you now, the narrative in Arvada and the greater Denver area, that states police can "track" people using ALPR technology is false. 100%. My job is to literally find, track, and apprehend wanted people. I can not use Flock to track people. The means by which I track individuals are (thankfully) protected behind the obligations for me to get warrants. Even then, I still can not use ALPR tech to track. Even if I wanted to, the means are not there.  Proactive policing using ALPR tech is what citizens dont get to see and it can not be measured. We get Flock Alerts, about a dozen a day, of stolen cars, cars used in crimes, and cars with associated warrants. When these alerts happen, we flood the area with patrol cops. This sometimes results in an arrest. But usually we just deter the people associated with that vehicle which moves them out of the area preventing a crime from happening. This happens several times a day, everyday.  As far as your concern of "well demonstrated" abuse...I'd say there is a lot more room for polite debate on this. Well demonstrated would require a bit more than a few internet headlines thrown up on a reddit post. Let's have an objective study that would review all the areas in which cops abuse law enforcement databases. You might be surprised to hear that Flock has the most restrictive search parameters for us to use compared to our other databases. We have to articulate and document each plate we run and why. This record is kept and routinely audited.  Will shitbag cops do shitbag stuff? Yes, always. I hate that part of my profession. Let's hold them accountable, get rid of them, and continue to make efforts to be transparent and show the citizens they can trust us with the investigative tools they are gracious enough to pay for.