Flock Safety Developing AI Tool for Police That Can Track Individuals

AFFILIATE_PRODUCTS:

Flock Safety is known for providing Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) systems for police, but the company is now secretly developing a new AI tool that could overturn its public claims.

According to a Wired investigation reported by Slashdot’s EditorDavid, Flock has consistently stated that it “cannot recognize, identify, or track individuals.” However, the new AI tool is capable of identifying drivers and tracking vehicles based solely on their behavioral patterns.

Technical Features and Access Scope

This AI tool has access to police case files, 911 dispatch logs, and commercial identification records. It can transform a license plate number into a name, home address, and relatives. Furthermore, it can search for individuals based solely on physical descriptions within a specified area on a map.

The codebase includes 45 tools, implementing access to license plate scans, camera metadata, arrest records, case files, dispatch logs, and ballistic results. Commercial databases contain social security numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, and information on relatives and associates.

Prompt-Based Operation

The company explains it is in a testing phase with a few law enforcement partners and the tool is still under development and may differ from the final product. However, the system incorporates prompt-based operation.

For example, one prompt reads: “Find a witness based on the vehicle most frequently seen in [neighborhood] during daily times of day over the past 14 days.” An officer inputs the location and time frame, and the system outputs a list of license plates. Another tool then converts these into names and home addresses.

Another prompt instructs: “List everyone arrested two or more times within the past 2 years (excluding drug crimes), map their residence, obtain call history, and conduct detailed investigation on the top 3.” It begins with individual arrest records and proceeds to a “workup”—a one-command identity investigation—for three individuals selected by the software.

Contradiction with Previous Claims and

Social Backlash

Flock Safety has consistently claimed its ALPR technology does not track individuals. However, this new tool possesses the capability to identify individuals solely based on behavioral patterns, creating a significant discrepancy between its public statements and actual capabilities.

The company is currently facing political pressure from both parties. Records of platform misuse by police officers are accumulating, and in urban areas, there have been waves of vandalism where cameras are cut with saws or lenses are covered with paint. Flock Safety previously announced ALPR reforms, but the underlying problem persists.

Privacy and Ethical Concerns

While this AI tool could potentially enhance law enforcement efficiency, it simultaneously raises serious concerns about privacy invasion. Tracking individuals’ movement patterns and linking them to arrest records and personal information could accelerate the development of a surveillance society.

A law professor at George Washington University pointed out to Wired that “Flock is clearly aiming to go beyond ALPR and become a digital platform for law enforcement.” If this tool is completed, police could investigate individuals without any suspicion of crime, using only location, time, and behavioral patterns.

Political Pressure and Regulatory Prospects

Flock Safety’s efforts highlight the tension between technological evolution and societal acceptance. The camera vandalism movement symbolizes public pushback, with growing demands for privacy protection. Meanwhile, for law enforcement agencies, this could become a powerful weapon for criminal investigations. The lack of balanced regulation is facilitating the rapid proliferation of this technology.

The challenge lies in how legal systems, which often lag behind technological development, will regulate this expansion of surveillance capability. The disconnect between public claims and actual technological capabilities undermines corporate credibility and could become grounds for future regulatory tightening.

Editorial Opinion

In the short term, Flock Safety’s new AI tool will likely advance through pilot tests in law enforcement, drawing attention to its capabilities. However, criticism from privacy groups and politicians is also likely to intensify simultaneously. Especially concerning the tracking of individuals’ behavioral patterns, establishing a legal framework has become urgent.

In the long term, there is a risk that this technology will spread to other law enforcement agencies and corporations, leading to the standardization of surveillance technology. Behavioral pattern-based identification could establish a new surveillance paradigm replacing facial recognition technology. Society will have no choice but to explore how to balance technological convenience with privacy infringement.

The question we pose is how legal systems, which often lag behind technological development, will regulate this expansion of surveillance capability. Furthermore, the disconnect between public claims and actual technological capabilities undermines corporate credibility and could become grounds for future regulatory tightening.

References

• “Flock is Secretly Building a Powerful New Prompt-Based AI Tool for Police”, by EditorDavid — Slashdot, 2026-08-22T20:00:00.000Z (ARR)
• Source URL: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/08/22/0526219/flock-is-secretly-building-a-powerful-new-prompt-based-ai-tool-for-police?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed