- Flock provides police with a coaching guide on how to pitch its license plate reader technology to city councils, even amid public opposition.
- The guide advises police to avoid debating whether the technology constitutes mass surveillance and instead reframe the discussion around governance and community safety.
- Flock encourages police to build support early by briefing city managers and council members before public meetings, and to use a carefully scripted presentation.
- The guide suggests reframing financial discussions by focusing on the cost of unresolved crime rather than the price of the cameras.
- Flock's tactics are part of a broader effort to counter criticism, including controversies over data sharing with ICE, use in abortion-related searches, and surveillance of protesters.
- The guide includes success stories in Oakland and Richmond, California, where Flock contracts were renewed despite public scrutiny.
- Critics, including the EFF and local activists, argue that Flock is exploiting police as salespeople and undermining public governance.
- The guide acknowledges public expectations for transparency and accountability but treats opposition as a messaging problem rather than a substantive issue.