Report details how Flock Safety lets police search for people on cameras

In short: A new report shows Flock Safety’s police software can search camera footage for people using written descriptions, and its built-in safeguards may log misuse but not prevent it.

What's going on

WIRED reported that Flock Safety, a company known for license plate reader cameras, now offers police more ways to search for people on camera, not just cars. WIRED said it rebuilt parts of Flock’s latest search interface using code the company sends to an officer’s web browser.

One tool described is an AI-powered watchlist. An officer can draw an area on a city map, then have cameras in that area automatically keep looking for someone who matches a written description, such as “person wearing scrubs.” Another feature can alert an officer when any person enters a specific zone inside a single camera view, like a doorway.

The report also describes how Flock screens searches for sensitive wording before running them. The system can allow, warn, or block a search. Some categories, like race or religion, are meant to be blocked. Political, social, and cultural expression triggers a warning that an officer can click through, after leaving a comment. Experts told WIRED that screening at this scale is not reliably accurate, and that outsiders cannot measure how often the system gets it wrong.

What to watch

Flock says it is rolling out changes like shorter default data retention, required case codes for searches, and automated auditing by the end of the year. WIRED’s analysis suggests these steps may discourage some misuse and create records of it, but they may not technically stop an officer who is determined to proceed. Cities and police departments will likely keep debating whether the benefits are worth the privacy risks, especially given past cases of officers misusing similar tools.

Source: Wired