Flock Safety

Flock Safety is an American company that sells Automated License Plate Recognition technology (ALPR) to law enforcement agencies and neighbourhood associations.[1] The cameras read license plates and sent instant alerts to law enforcement officers when the cameras identify license plates that match those on lists of cars that are stolen or otherwise of interest to the police. Private citizens and businesses who own one of Flock's cameras can use their own hot lists. Unlike many other ALPR systems, Flock cameras allow searches based on the car's color and various other visual features.[2][3]

Flock Safety
IndustryTechnology, Surveillance
Founded2017 in United States
FoundersGarrett Langley, Matt Feury
ProductsAutomated Licence Plate Readers
Websiteflocksafety.com

History

Flock was founded in 2017.[4] As of February 2022, Flock's fixed cameras have been installed in over 1,500 cities across the US.[5]

In 2023, Atlanta police (Cobb County) credited a Flock license plate recognition system for helping them track down a gunman.[6]

Controversy

There is speculation that the system may cause harm, especially to minorities. There are also privacy concerns.[7][8][9] The Electronic Frontier Foundation argues that ALPRs like Flock may create more problems than they solve. Flock Safety cameras and technology only captures data from vehicles and the machine learning is specifically designed not to identify people. Although Flock Safety claims their cameras reduce crime, opponents argue that there is no clear evidence for this.[10][11] The American Civil Liberties Union released a report in March 2022 criticising both Flock Safety's business model and its products.[12]

References
  1. "Suburbs of Surveillance".
  2. "Fort Worth, Texas, Deploys Solar-Powered License Plate Cameras".
  3. "West Covina Police Install Network Of Flock Safety License Plate Reading Cameras In Strategic Locations".
  4. Flock Safety. "Media Kit: Our Founding Story". Flock Safety. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  5. Cheng, Isabella (2022-02-16). "Flock Raises Another $150 Million, Valuation Now At $3.5 Billion". IPVM. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  6. Murphy, Adam (2023-05-05). ""Camera network helped to find Midtown mass shooting suspect, police say"". Atlanta News First. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  7. Sheridan, Stacey (2022-04-07). "Community Relations Commission strongly opposes Flock". Oak Park. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  8. Sheridan, Stacey (2022-04-05). "Oak Park to get eight license plate reading cameras". Oak Park. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  9. Harwell, Drew (2021-10-21). "License plate scanners were supposed to bring peace of mind. Instead they tore the neighborhood apart". The Washington Post.
  10. Matsakis, Louise (2021-10-24). "Can License Plate Readers Really Reduce Crime?". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  11. Guariglia, Jason Kelley and Matthew (2020-09-14). "Things to Know Before Your Neighborhood Installs an Automated License Plate Reader". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  12. Stanley, Jay (2022-03-03). "Fast-Growing Company Flock is Building a New AI-Driven Mass-Surveillance System". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved 2022-04-08.


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