I Reported on Flock's Cameras. Now I'm One of the System's Mistakes
3 hours ago
- A journalist and his wife were surrounded by four police cars after Flock Safety's ALPR system flagged their press car as stolen due to a license plate misentry.
- The error originated from a partial plate (34 DTM) entered into the FBI's NCIC database instead of the full plate (34 10 DTM), causing a nationwide hunt for the wrong vehicle.
- Flock Safety's system is designed to alert on any characters matching a hotlist, including partial matches, and relies on human verification, which failed in this case.
- The Plymouth Police Chief admitted human error but defended his officers' protocol, while Flock's Chief Communications Officer apologized and discussed potential system improvements.
- The incident highlights the lack of federal regulation for ALPR data storage and the need for guardrails to prevent errors in AI-powered surveillance systems.