Flock Safety's AI Tool Tracks Drivers Without License Plates
In brief
- OS Investigate identifies drivers using behavioral patterns instead of license plates or personal data
- System contains 69 preloaded prompts; 14 require no plate, name, or description
- Wired obtained code from Flock's public website, revealing the surveillance system's full scope
- Flock says OS Investigate remains separate from license-plate readers and is still in testing
- Tool flags vehicles visiting multiple stores or banks within days, raising privacy concerns
How OS Investigate Works
Wired obtained the OS Investigate code from files on Flock's own website that were served to anyone who loaded its login pages. The system can identify drivers based on behavioral patterns—cars that hit three retail stores in three days, or several banks in a week, and the system returns the people who fit.
One built-in query lists "witnesses" as vehicles most seen in a neighborhood over the past two weeks. Another identifies individuals arrested more than twice in two years (exempting drug offenses) and builds dossiers on the top three. These queries don't require a name, plate, or physical description.
The Gap Between Capability and Current Use
Flock has long told the public its technology "cannot recognize, identify, or track individuals" and is "not for watching people." Flock spokesperson Paris Lewbel called OS Investigate a separate product from the company's license-plate readers, built to help investigators work across records their agencies already hold.
The framing doesn't sit well with civil liberties advocates. Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the ACLU, said the gap between what Flock's cameras can do and what the company is already doing leaves "very little space... like China."
Testing and Pushback
OS Investigate is still in development and in testing with a small group of law enforcement partners. But skepticism runs deep. A report by the Institute for Justice found over two dozen cases of officers resigning or being arrested for allegedly using license-plate readers to stalk current or former partners.
Activism has also spiked. In June and July, activists spray-painted, taped over, and destroyed Flock cameras across the country; at least 33 incidents were recorded across 23 states. Rep. Thomas Massie's planned bill would withhold federal funding from agencies that deploy the technology.
