Overview
- Flock Safety runs a nationwide automated license-plate reader network that photographs passing cars, extracts plate numbers and vehicle details with machine learning, and stores time-stamped, searchable records for investigators.
- Investigations and audits reported Monday show at least 50 officers nationwide have been accused of using plate databases to track people they knew and that 46 of those cases involved searches of Flock data.
- Accuracy problems have produced real harms in some places, with a Business Insider review finding Flock issued incorrect matches in 71% of 1,427 stolen-vehicle and felony alerts in Roseville, California, leading to wrongful stops and arrests.
- Policy responses are accelerating as California lawmakers advance a bill to limit default retention to 30 days and bar contracts that allow default federal or out-of-state access while many cities and police agencies pause or renegotiate Flock agreements.
- Flock and some police departments say the system aids investigations and point to audit logs and new pattern-detection tools as safeguards, but advocates say logs are usually reviewed only after complaints and that proactive, enforceable rules are needed to prevent further misuse.