Flock license plate cameras show low accuracy rates in California cities

A new analysis has found that AI cameras sold to California police departments often give wrong information. The cameras, made by Flock Safety, read car number plates automatically. Roseville Police received 1,427 alerts from Flock cameras in 2023 and 2024. Officers found that 71% of those alerts contained reading errors. Flock claims its cameras read plates correctly more than 96% of the time in good conditions. Results in other cities have been more positive. Berkeley Police said 52 Flock cameras helped make 58 arrests and recover 37 stolen vehicles. Berkeley's robbery solve rate also rose from 34% to 49% in one year. Separately, Flock allowed federal authorities to search local plate data through a pilot programme without telling local police departments.