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1. What is ALPR?

Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR) have long helped law enforcement in solving crimes and recovering stolen vehicles. ALPRs capture computer-readable images oflicense plates, allowing officers to compare plate numbers against those of stolen carsor wanted individuals on a database like the NCIC.

ALPR cameras can be installed on vehicles ("mobile ALPR") or attached to fixed objects like traffic lights ("fixed ALPR"). 

The information by ALPR cameras can help determine whether a vehicle was at the scene of a crime and to discover vehicles that may be associated with each other. Law enforcement agencies can choose to share their information with other agencies. The cameras can also integrate information from national or state crime databases to provide real-time alerts when a vehicle associated with a known suspect or a stolen vehicle passes the camera.

2. What is Flock Safety?

Flock Safety is a public safety operating system that helps communities and law enforcement in over 1,500 cities work together to eliminate crime, protect privacy, and mitigate bias. Flock Safety builds devices that capture objective evidence and use machine learning to detect and deliver unbiased investigative leads to law enforcement. Flock Safety communities have reported crime reductions of up to 70 percent. 

Flock Safety serves HOAs, neighborhoods, businesses, law enforcement agencies, towns, and cities. 

As of 2022, there are over 1,500 Flock Safety communities; we partner with 1000+ law enforcement agencies.

3. Does Flock Safety help reduce crime?

Law enforcement agencies have reported that utilizing Flock Safety devices has helped reduce crime by over 70 percent. In some areas, that included an over 80 percent reduction in residential burglaries, over 40 percent reduction in robberies, and an over 30 percent reduction in violent crime.

4. How do License plate readers help solve crime?

Seven out of every 10 crimes are committed with a vehicle.

License plate numbers give law enforcement the objective, actionable leads needed to solve the investigation. Using ALPR cameras, detectives can pinpoint the suspect’s last known location which narrows down the search radius. 

Flock Safety ALPR cameras go beyond capturing license plates. Unlike traditional license plate readers, the unique Vehicle Fingerprint™  technology accelerates investigations by allowing users to filter their search based on the vehicle’s specific characteristics, including body type, make, color, and more. This is key in producing an investigative lead for law enforcement when a suspect vehicle has no visible plates.

5. How much does a Flock Safety camera cost?

The Flock Safety Falcon camera is $2,500 per camera per year, with a one-time $250 installation cost. This price includes everything — installation, maintenance, footage hosting, cellular service, and software updates. The Sparrow camera (a lighter and smaller version of our Falcon camera) costs slightly less with the same basic subscription model.

6. Where can a Flock Camera be installed?

Flock Safety cameras can be installed almost anywhere. Flock Safety leverages solar and battery for power, and cellular (LTE) for data communications, removing any upfront wiring or labor costs. The cameras only require a few hours of sunlight a day, making them ideal for both rural and urban neighborhoods.

7. How does Flock Safety protect citizen privacy?

Flock Safety has strict measures in place to protect resident privacy.

Flock Safety believes that we can successfully reduce crime while protecting and preserving privacy. Here are a few of the ways we have ethically-engineered our suite of products to ensure privacy protection:

• We store all data for only 30 days (or in adherence with local laws). Customers own all of their data — Flock will never share or sell data with third parties. The customer is the only one to determine who has access to the footage.
• The Safe List feature  allows neighborhood residents to register their license plate number and opt to be eliminated from captured footage. This way, police can easily separate residents from non-residents and allow residents with privacy concerns to opt out of the system altogether.
• All data is stored in the cloud through Amazon Web Services (AWS) using AES256 bit encryption, a standard encryption system used by both the Federal Government and the National Security Agency.

Learn more about how Flock Safety protect privacy here:  How Flock Safety Works to Eliminate Crime While Protecting and Maintaining Resident Privacy

8. My neighborhood has Flock cameras. Can my car be removed from footage?

Yes, Flock has several measures in place to protect resident privacy. One measure is the Flock Safety Safe List, which allows residents of communities with Flock Safety cameras to specify that any footage of their vehicle is marked as “resident and removed from the footage in the interest of privacy.

9. Who monitors the camera footage?

Nobody from Flock Safety is accessing or monitoring your footage.

Flock Safety does not access or monitor your footage without explicit request of the customer. Our team does have software in place to measure camera performance and image capture quality. This is used to preemptively diagnose issues and schedule maintenance service calls.

10. Are Flock Safety Cameras tied to any personal identifiable information?

No, the camera takes pictures of the vehicle while across refencing the license plate through the Stolen Vehicle System and Flock Safety Hot List. A second search in the California Department of Motor Vehicles database must be conducted by an officer in order to identify the registered owner of the vehicle. Such a search requires reasonable suspicion as an officer must have a right to know and a need to know prior to conducting such a search.