SAVANNAH — Six Savannah Police Department employees, including four officers, are on leave after an internal audit found they may have used the department’s vehicle tracking system to run searches that had nothing to do with law enforcement.
What’s happening: The department opened an internal investigation on July 27 after its audit process flagged potential misuse of the Flock Safety system, a network of cameras that automatically reads and logs license plates. According to the department, the employees ran searches on personal acquaintances and family members. One officer is also accused of giving someone from an outside law enforcement agency unauthorized access to the system. All six cases have been referred to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for an independent criminal investigation, and each employee faces possible termination.
What’s new: The audit that caught the alleged misuse was made possible by a Flock Safety audit assistance program the company made available in April. Since then, the department has added recurring weekly audits by its Office of Professional Standards.
By the numbers: SPD runs 103 Flock Safety cameras across Savannah at $3,000 per camera per year. Every search is automatically logged, including who ran it, when, and why. Vehicle data is kept for 30 days and then deleted unless it has been preserved as part of an active criminal case.
What this means for you: Flock cameras are authorized only for law enforcement purposes, such as locating stolen vehicles, finding wanted people, and supporting criminal investigations. They are not authorized for personal use. The system does not identify drivers or use facial recognition.
What they’re saying: “The public places tremendous trust in us, and that trust must be earned every day,” Police Chief Lenny B. Gunther said. “When our internal oversight identified activity that raised concerns, we acted immediately.”
Catch up quick: Savannah is not the first Georgia department to face this. A DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office sergeant, Kabiru Salawu, was arrested and fired after an investigation found he used the same Flock Safety system without authorization. Salawu faces a felony charge of violation of oath of office and a misdemeanor charge of misuse of license plate data. He is being held without bond at the DeKalb County Jail.
Police officials in Cherokee, Albany, Greene County and Fayetteville have also been found misusing Flock cameras, which has brought the surveillance system under scrutiny, with many residents unaware the levels to which their local governments were keepiung tabs on them.
The path forward: Because the GBI is now running an active criminal investigation, the department says it will not release additional details about the employees or the specific searches they allegedly ran.
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
- B.T. Clark
- B.T. Clark
- B.T. Clark
- B.T. Clark
- STORM SURGE: Georgia braces for 60 mph winds, flash floods Saturday
- Roaches crawling on food: Alpharetta Mexican restaurant fails health inspection
- Flock cameras land another Georgia police department in hot water
- Georgia man faces drive-by shooting charges after 6 guns were found at his home
- Stockbridge restaurant fails health inspection with a score of 45
