Sandy Springs residents who want to know whether police license plate readers have scanned their vehicles now have a free tool to check.

A new website called Have I Been Flocked compiles publicly released audit logs from Flock Safety cameras and lets any driver search by license plate, 11Alive reported Aug. 14. The site currently covers agencies across Central Georgia, though it has not been confirmed whether Sandy Springs Police Department logs are included.

Jason Hunyar, a Dunwoody resident who built the site, said he became skeptical of Flock cameras after filing open records requests in his own community and finding what he described as misuse. A camera in his neighborhood had been hacked and broadcast live online, he told 11Alive.

"If your city is using Flock, you can search 'Have I Been Flocked,' search by these agencies and see what searches are being done," Hunyar said.

The tool matters locally. Sandy Springs has roughly 400 Flock license plate readers, according to Sandy Springs Police Maj. Mike Lindstrom, who disclosed the figure to the City Council in June. The city fired Reserve Sgt. Francis Esposito after an internal investigation found he used the system to benefit a private company where he held a second job, as we reported Aug. 7.

Sandy Springs is not alone. Six Savannah Police Department employees were fired the week of Aug. 13 for searching friends' and family members' plates. Three former Bibb County sheriff's deputies were arrested Aug. 10 on similar allegations.

Flock cuts data retention, adds lockouts

Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley announced a slate of policy changes in a company blog post on Thursday, Aug. 13. The headline shift: the Atlanta-based company is cutting its recommended default data retention window from 30 days to seven days, citing internal data showing more than 90 percent of searches happen within a week.

Other changes announced:

  • Proactive lockout: When a user's search activity meets criteria for abnormal behavior, Flock will automatically suspend access until an administrator reviews it.
  • Mandatory audit tool (by end of 2026): All law enforcement customers must adopt Flock's Audit Assistance feature, which flags unusual search patterns. Previously, only about one-third of agencies used it voluntarily.
  • Required case codes (by end of 2026): Officers must enter a criminal investigation case number before searching. Emergency overrides will be automatically flagged for review.
  • Offense filtering: Cities can choose which crime categories allow outside agencies to access their cameras.

Flock also now requires multi-factor authentication for all users.

Georgia's 30-month exception

There is a significant caveat for Sandy Springs residents. Georgia state law allows agencies to retain license plate reader data for up to 30 months. Flock's seven-day recommendation is not a mandate. Existing customers, including Sandy Springs, may keep their current retention settings.

The Sandy Springs Police Department has not issued a public statement on Flock's Aug. 13 changes.

Tom Bowman, policy counsel for the Center for Democracy & Technology, told ABC News the changes amount to "the same 'Just Trust Us' policy with a fresh coat of paint," noting Flock still relies on police departments to police themselves.

The Have I Been Flocked website relies entirely on public records requests, meaning its data may be incomplete or unavailable for some agencies. Hunyar encouraged residents to file their own open records requests for Flock audit logs from their local departments to help expand the database.

Residents can search at haveibeenflocked.com by entering their license plate number.