In one California town, Flock misread license plates in 71% of the alerts it sent to police
Public records reveal that AI-powered license plate readers from Flock Safety had a 71% error rate in Roseville, California, frequently misidentifying vehicles. The findings highlight significant reliability issues with automated surveillance technology used by law enforcement.
Why it matters
It raises critical questions about the accuracy and accountability of AI tools used in public safety and law enforcement.
The Sacramento suburb of Roseville, California, has been using Flock Safety's AI-powered cameras since 2021. Andri Tambunan for BI In the summer of 2024, a police officer in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, California, called a man to discuss a persistent problem with his license plate. The city's AI-powered license plate readers, made by the tech startup Flock Safety, had repeatedly misread the man's plate. At least six times, Flock had sent alerts to the Roseville Police Department, identifying his vehicle as stolen or used in a felony crime. Roseville police could see that Flock's software kept confusing the "9" on the man's license plate for an "8." The car owner said he would take off his license plate cover. Soon after, it happened again. It's "easier at this point we have it memorized," a dispatch supervisor in Roseville wrote in an email to a colleague.
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