Quote:Flock’s AI Cameras Are Watching Cars All Over America. They’re About To Get A Lot More Powerful.

Amid fears it’s created a mass surveillance system, Flock is turning its license plate readers into fully-fledged surveillance cameras, taking on what it claims is a monopoly on police tech by Axon.

Flock Safety, the $7.5 billion car surveillance company, has already built a sizable AI-powered camera network, with tens of thousands of smart license plate readers monitoring roads in 49 American states. Soon its cameras are going to capture a lot more.

In the fall this year, cops will be able to turn their Flock license plate readers into something more akin to traditional surveillance cameras. While Flock cameras today take photos of vehicles, flagging any car that’s on a hotlist of suspected vehicles to cops or private industry customers like FedEx or mall provider Simon Property, those same customers will soon be able to request either live feeds or 15 second clips from around the time a vehicle passed through a camera’s field of vision.

Garrett Langley, Flock CEO, told Forbes that the update should give cops more “situational awareness.” Police will be able to pull up feeds from Flock cameras when a 911 call comes in, for instance, Langley said. “We will just open up the five nearest cameras in real time and say, here's what's happening right now,” he said. There will also be the option to upgrade to a camera where the angle can be adjusted, for a wider purview.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrews...-powerful/
(archive link if that's paywalled for you) https://archive.ph/Rf65d

Someone was mentioning that we live in a police state, and that's a bit hyperbolic, but it is true if you look at how much surveillance there is of the general public, as compared to the past.

Does anyone know what these are being used for?

Here is a map where you can see some of the ALRPs (Automatic License Plate Readers) near you:
https://deflock.me/map

Those cameras are not just used to spot stolen cars, they can be used to track any vehicle. They have cameras in the DFW area that read toll passes on cars. If you don't have one and use a toll road, they send you a bill, even if you live in a different state. I know because I got one and I live in Kentucky.

There is a lot of pushback at the local level thankfully.  But we had to find out about it after it was all implemented, paid for and used on us first.
In my city the Council and Mayoral candidates are largely mentioning getting rid of them due to legal privacy concerns.
In my city of 100k it looks like we only have like 15 of those on the map in 2 spots. 
Down with the Surveillance State. 
He said while next to his mobile surveillance device.

(10-29-2025, 08:54 AM)sahgwa Wrote: In my city of 100k it looks like we only have like 15 of those on the map in 2 spots. 

I will point out that map is only user-reported ALPRs. So it is likely not complete. Flock and other companies don't disclose, of course.

Here is a 2022 ACLU white-paper about Flock, Vigilant, Motorola, and other ALPR data aggregators/resellers:
https://www.aclu.org/publications/fast-g...nce-system

Worth noting that this dataset plugs easily into Palantir's tech.¹


¹ Or perhaps I so imagine. They are a Y-Combinator startup and part of the Bedrock/NSF/IQT/Thiel/etc coterie.

In may state, many of the state police traffic cars have automatic license plate readers in addition to radar / laser for monitoring the speed of cars.

The funny thing is... this was always in the CARds...

We have been perfect consumers for nearly a century.

Listening to marketing-speak as if the producers had any repercussions from their efforts...

There once was a time when having agency and control over your personal behaviors and use of vehicles was not even threatened by oversight of a faceless entity.

Now we live n a world where many cars can simply be "turned off" remotely... or have their performance changed ... because of algorithms installed at the home server - as "property" by the company... all outside the control of the person who actually indebted themselves to "own" a vehicle.

This information being relayed back and forth is the 'meat' of the actuarial tables that are cited as THE GOD-LIKE INFALLIBLE REASON... that insurance "rates" will NEVER fall across the board... only rise and rise... so much so that we consider it a success when they only raise "a little."

Sold as a service... a convenience... these tracking devices are pretty much an element of the new "wild wild west" information (data) economy ....  being 'laid out on the table' for abuse by anyone with an invite to the table.

(10-29-2025, 08:21 AM)UltraBudgie Wrote: https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrews...-powerful/
(archive link if that's paywalled for you) https://archive.ph/Rf65d

Someone was mentioning that we live in a police state, and that's a bit hyperbolic, but it is true if you look at how much surveillance there is of the general public, as compared to the past.

Does anyone know what these are being used for?

Here is a map where you can see some of the ALRPs (Automatic License Plate Readers) near you:
https://deflock.me/map

All Ring doorbell cameras used to give your feed to any law enforcement for any reason without a warrant.
That information is in the documentation included with the cameras.
UPS has cameras on their vehicles. That company that provides them also works with multiple agencies in all 50 states and the live feed with us assisted with AI and facial recognition and license plate readers are active and monitored in real time.
If someone believes that we are not in a mass surveillance state then think again.

Edit: many if not most HOA's use flock systems, which share with agencies. I believe Amazon delivery truck also do the same but I am not sure. Multiple trucking companies do this.

(10-29-2025, 01:16 PM)Maxmars Wrote: The funny thing is... this was always in the CARds...

We have been perfect consumers for nearly a century.

Listening to marketing-speak as if they producers had any repercussions from their efforts...

There once was a time when having agency and control over your personal behaviors and use of vehicles was not even threatened by oversight of a faceless entity.

Now we live n a world where many cars can simply be "turned off" remotely... or have their performance changed ... because of algorithms installed at the home server - as "property" by the company... all outside the control of the person who actually indebted themselves to "own" a vehicle.

This information being relayed back and forth is the 'meat' of the actuarial tables that are cited as THE GOD-LIKE INFALLIBLE REASON... that insurance "rates" will NEVER fall across the board... only rise and rise... so much so that we consider it a success when they only raise "a little."

Sold as a service... a convenience... these tracking devices are pretty much an element of the new "wild wild west" information (data) economy ....  being 'laid out on the table' for abuse by anyone with an invite to the table.

Insurance is the big elephant in the room, as they have the nerve to withdraw coverage for any reason , look at California and other states, but will demand you pay out the tooth for coverage then deny you anyway.  It's the ultimate scam. And HOA's most costly expense, is this scam, insurance.  It's a snake eating it's own tail and we are the poor mouse already stuck in it's gut. 
Now everyone sees everything everyone does at any time and therefore everything is up for 'coverage' / being gambled on/ scams.

(10-29-2025, 02:28 PM)sahgwa Wrote: Insurance is the big elephant in the room, as they have the nerve to withdraw coverage for any reason , look at California and other states, but will demand you pay out the tooth for coverage then deny you anyway.  It's the ultimate scam. And HOA's most costly expense, is this scam, insurance.  It's a snake eating it's own tail and we are the poor mouse already stuck in it's gut. 
Now everyone sees everything everyone does at any time and therefore everything is up for 'coverage' / being gambled on/ scams.

Another example where Govt agents (police) and big business (insurance) work together to fleece people.
On the one hand, make insurance mandatory and allow insurance companies to come up with ever more inventive ways to price increase whilst also increasing opportunities to not pay out. On the other hand, use these inventions to create additional income streams for the state. 
All for our own safety, of course. And just think, taxes will not have to rise!

On a different note overseas in many countries where the camera's are used for law enforcement properly they are absolutely wonderful. Purse thieves, muggings, fights, break-ins, bombs planted by the religion of peace, you name it, if there is a camera there, stuff gets sorted very quickly.  https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Fwi4b-PKu...ture=share  https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HZZ8V-SuV...ture=share  a shame not more lethal but we must play fair...  

Without the cameras IMO there would have been a video talking about how a peaceful poor down trodden immigrate was unfairly beaten and tasered by by the mean old police and racist bystanders.
 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LdRfKwgVX...ture=share
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AfYtBscrJ...ture=share
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qIBmw889h...ture=share