Flock Safety

Headlines · 6

1. 3d
   MapQuest adds Surveillance Layer showing license plate reader locations

   MapQuest has added a Surveillance Layer that users turn on from the Layers menu to see known automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras as small eyeball icons on the map. MapQuest said on Bluesky that the layer covers gear from Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions (Vigilant), Genetec, Axis Communications, Axon, Leonardo (ELSAG), Neology, Rekor, PlateSmart, Ubicquia, Verkada and other outdoor surveillance brands. A CNET reporter who tested it said tapping an icon shows the camera type, such as dome or fixed, and exact coordinates, but not the company that owns it; MapQuest did not say how it sourced the locations and did not respond to CNET's request for comment. Tom's Hardware reported the layer also shows which direction each camera faces.

   CNET · 🔥 5
2. 3d
   AI tool Raven claims it can pinpoint a specific house from one interior photo

   A 404 Media podcast episode describes Raven, formerly known as Geospy, an AI photo-geolocation tool that the report says can now pinpoint a specific house from a single photo taken indoors, and that law enforcement can use it. The episode also covers a judge ruling a particular Flock search unconstitutional and an AI-generated video that a court said carried 'undue emotional weight' in a manslaughter case. The accuracy claims come from the reporting and the vendor, with no test results or error rates given in the source.

   404 Media · 🔥 0
3. 3d
   Police Used AI-Generated Child Photos to Lure a Suspected Predator

   According to 404 Media and Court Watch, an FBI task force officer with the Livonia Undercover Resistance to Exploitation Unit (LURE) in Michigan created a profile on the queer-focused dating app Taimi using an AI-generated image of a teenager-appearing male named "Caleb," with no age listed. After the investigator, posing as Caleb, said he was 15, the man replied that he was interested, sent sexually explicit messages over several days and arranged to drive to a meetup while believing Caleb's parents were out; he was taken into custody on arrival. Investigators also used Thomson Reuters CLEAR to check his phone number, Clearview AI to match his face and Flock to track his car; the man asked to speak with the officer two hours after booking and admitted everything, and the report says he works at an Illinois high school.

   404 Media · 🔥 0
4. 6d
   TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 unveils full Disrupt Stage lineup

   TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 runs October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco, and organizers have published the full Disrupt Stage speaker lineup. Confirmed speakers include Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman, Science Corporation founder Max Hodak, Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley, all five Benchmark partners, and Ricursive Intelligence co-founders Anna Goldie and Azalia Mirhoseini. Day 2 (October 14) focuses on AI with speakers from Nvidia, Waabi, Flock Safety and Ricursive Intelligence; Amazon's Panos Panay will appear Thursday with new tech, alongside Bluesky CEO Toni Schneider, COO Rose Wang and Replit CEO Amjad Masad. Organizers say the event expects 10,000+ attendees, 200+ sessions, 250+ speakers and 300+ exhibiting startups, with the Startup Battlefield 200 winner receiving $100,000 in equity-free funding.

   TechCrunch AI · 🔥 0
5. 7d
   Engineer builds DIY ALPR rig to track police cars; police visit his home

   Canadian software engineer and YouTuber Anthony Sistilli said two officers from Ontario's Peel Regional Police visited his home on September 20 to ask why he built a surveillance device aimed at tracking police vehicles. The prototype uses an roughly $180 camera and automated license plate recognition (ALPR): image recognition first decides whether a vehicle is a police car, and only then tries to read its plate, with AI coding tools used in development and the pipeline split into two stages to cut the compute load. Sistilli said the results were limited — a one-hour test produced only two police-car images, with plates hard to read — making it a proof-of-concept rather than a working tracking system, while police raised concerns that continuously collecting where and when patrol cars appear could reveal officers' routines.

   cnBeta · 🔥 0
6. Oct 9
   Flock Safety reportedly plans 18% layoffs amid nationwide backlash

   Flock Safety, which sells AI-powered license plate readers to police departments and cities, is reportedly planning to cut about 18 percent of its workforce — roughly 270 employees — with the layoffs expected to take effect at the end of October, according to Reuters, which cited sources close to the decision. The company currently employs about 1,500 people, and three weeks ago WIRED reported it had begun a voluntary buyout program. Flock's cameras have drawn bipartisan opposition: Florida banned them from state highways, Texas cut off state funding, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said he would welcome a ban, and the Los Angeles Police Department declined to renew its contract.

   Engadget AI · 🔥 0

Experience and discussion from the community

Share my Flock Safety experienceAsk about Flock Safety