Private Drones Could Chase Shoplifters Beyond Store Borders
A new customer for police tech
Flock Safety, a company that built drone and camera systems originally adopted by police departments, is now offering its drones to private businesses. The move lets commercial sites deploy Flock docking stations on their property and, if they hold the right FAA waivers, launch drones to monitor and follow suspects beyond the visual line of sight.
How the system would work in retail
According to Keith Kauffman, a former police chief who directs Flock’s drone program, the workflow is similar to a first responder drone deployment but triggered by a private alarm. If store loss-prevention staff see shoplifters leave, they could activate a rooftop drone from its dock. The drone, equipped with cameras, can follow people on foot and continue tracking once they get into a vehicle.
Kauffman describes it simply: ‘Instead of a 911 call that triggers the drone, it is an alarm call.’ He adds that an operator can click a button to follow a vehicle and keep the drone on the target while it moves through a permitted radius.
The live video feed can go to the company’s in-house security team, and it can also be routed automatically to local police departments if configured that way.
Who Flock is pitching and the limits of the rollout
Flock says it is in talks with large retailers but has not yet signed retail contracts. The company already works with at least one private customer, Morning Star, a California tomato processor that uses drones to secure distribution sites. Flock plans to offer the technology to hospitals, warehouses, oil and gas facilities, and other sites that need perimeter monitoring.
A key technical and legal limitation is the Federal Aviation Administration’s rules for flying beyond visual line of sight, often known as BVLOS. Operators generally need a waiver to fly drones out of the pilot’s unaided sight, and the FAA is actively drafting new guidance for how those approvals are granted. That makes long-distance private drone pursuits contingent on regulatory approvals that are still evolving.
Privacy, civil liberties, and past controversies
Flock’s private-sector expansion follows a trend of police departments deploying drones as rapid visual responders. Police programs have claimed real-world successes, like delivering supplies to a lost child, but they have also provoked privacy concerns, lawsuits, and accusations of overpolicing in marginalized neighborhoods.
The company has faced criticism before for its other tools, such as license plate readers. Critics warn that data collected by local agencies can be accessed by federal immigration authorities like ICE and CBP. Those concerns are heightened amid political climates that prioritize aggressive immigration enforcement.
Rebecca Williams, senior strategist at the ACLU’s privacy and data governance unit, calls the move ‘a logical step, but in the wrong direction.’ She argues that private-sector deployment risks further eroding Fourth Amendment protections when governments can obtain data through purchases rather than warrants. Williams compares Flock to a big data aggregator, saying ‘Flock is the Meta of surveillance technology now’ and warns that expanding private use is worrying for civil liberties.
What to watch next
Watch for Flock to sign deals with retailers and for the FAA to finalize its BVLOS rules. The balance between faster incident response, private security needs, and civil liberties will determine how widely these drone programs spread and how they are regulated at federal and local levels.