Flock's New AI Police Tool Can Track Drivers Without a Name or License Plate
Flock Safety has built an AI investigation tool, now called OS Investigate, that can identify and follow drivers using movement patterns rather than license plates or names. Code found on Flock’s site shows police can use canned prompts or custom queries to find people based on location, time, and driving behavior, even without a plate or description. The system can also build dossiers from police and commercial data and infer likely associates from repeated co-location at cameras. Critics say this effectively enables person tracking, contradicting Flock’s public claims that its cameras cannot identify or track individuals. Flock says the tool is separate from its license-plate readers and is still being tested with a small group of law-enforcement partners. The revelations have fueled backlash, including vandalized cameras, reported misuse by officers, and proposed federal funding restrictions.
