Flock tests AI tool to identify people by driving habits amid backlash

The software, called OS Investigate and formerly known as Nightshift, draws on a network of cameras in 6,000 communities to log drivers' movements, Wired reported. It allows officers to search for people in a drawn area based on nothing more than a physical description, without requiring a license plate, name or a reported crime. The system can cross-reference camera data with police case files, 911 dispatch logs and commercial identity records to find a person's name, address and even relatives.

Noel Pichardo, a former police officer who reviewed the software for Wired, said, "I don't know how else to say this, but this sounds completely insane. I don't know how anyone can argue against the idea that Flock literally tracks people." Chad Marlow, an attorney with the ACLU, said the tool's lack of limitations on prompts could enable police to "go fishing for crimes" and effectively lead the AI in what it does.

Flock has long resisted being characterized as more than an automated license plate reader company, despite evidence that its cameras capture extensive vehicle details. According to the company, more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies use its technology, and more than 130,000 AI-powered license plate readers are on American streets, per advocacy group DeFlock. These cameras capture billions of plates monthly, along with vehicle makes, models, colors and alterations, allowing police to see where drivers have been over time.

Clare Garvie, deputy director of technology law and policy at NYU's Policing Project, said the monitoring effectively lets law enforcement look back at where anyone was at any point. She noted that the indiscriminate data collection raises Fourth Amendment concerns. "We did not set up a system of governance in this country that says, 'Just don't do anything wrong and you won't have anything to worry about,'" she said.

The technology has been misused by officers, including for stalking ex-partners or immigration enforcement without consent. A sheriff's office in Texas used it to track a woman who may have had an abortion. A 2024 analysis by a California police department found that Flock misread license plates in 71% of alerts it sent to police, according to NPR.

Public resistance has taken both legal and illegal forms. NPR reviewed local news reports and found Flock cameras have been vandalized in at least 36 states, with people stealing cameras, sawing down poles, crashing into them, covering them in paint and shooting them. In Crystal, Minn., resident Brady O'Rourke regularly uses a roof rake to block a Flock camera on his street, saying, "I don't want to pay to be surveilled. My tax dollars are funding cameras at the end of my block." In one Minnesota town, all Flock cameras disappeared overnight, and the police department said it would not replace them.

Flock said it is testing OS Investigate with certain law enforcement partners and that current capabilities may not reflect the final product. CEO Garrett Langley told NPR, "We are so transparent about the business. We don't own this data. We don't sell this data. Cities have control over how long it's stored. And who it's shared with." Last week, the company changed some features to prevent abuse, including shortening data retention recommendations and cutting off access for officers who appear to misuse the tool.

A Massachusetts police officer is facing possible dismissal and charges for allegedly misusing Flock cameras, according to an ABC News report cited by Engadget, and an Ohio community has called for a pause in Flock surveillance.