Flock alerts lead Elizabethtown police to 7 stolen Lexington dealership cars

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) — Flock safety cameras helped Elizabethtown police track down seven stolen vehicles in a statewide search last week.

While the Elizabethtown Police Department successfully recovered the vehicles, the technology behind the search continues to face intense national criticism. InvestigatesTV recently documented more than 70 cases across the country where law enforcement officers have been placed on leave, fired, arrested or convicted for misusing the Flock system, including incidents of stalking and harassment.

In Elizabethtown, however, Chief Jeremy Thompson said his department is actively enforcing safeguards to prevent such abuse.

"We're looking at all of our platforms, all of our digital platforms, to make sure all our safeguards are being adhered to," Thompson said.

To combat potential misuse, the Elizabethtown Police Department audits officers' use of the Flock system, limits search capabilities and fact-checks alerts before taking action. Thompson emphasized that these protocols do not hinder the department’s daily operations.

"We weren't searching for those vehicles; we were notified through our alert system that vehicles entered our jurisdiction," Thompson said.

The recovery effort began after a Lexington car dealership reported the seven vehicles stolen. Lexington police initiated a case and entered the vehicles' information into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database, which automatically syncs with the Flock system.

On Friday, Elizabethtown police officers began receiving Flock alerts showing that the stolen cars had entered Hardin County.

"For us, we get alerts because those vehicles had been put into the Flock system, into NCIC, that national database, as stolen," Thompson said.

Despite locating all seven vehicles, police made only one arrest because the other six cars were found unoccupied.

"If facial recognition were a part of these LPRs (license plate readers), we would have made seven arrests because we would have known who was driving these vehicles, and we would have found them," Thompson said.

Still, Thompson credited Flock with drastically shortening the search timeline.

While Kentucky law allows police departments to retain Flock camera footage for up to 90 days, Elizabethtown police enforce a stricter policy. Thompson maintains a 30-day retention limit, after which the footage is permanently deleted and cannot be accessed.