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TechQuiet 4d · day 8

Backlash Grows Against Flock Cameras as Crime-Reduction Claims Are Challenged

An Institute for Justice analysis undercuts a study Flock Safety uses to defend its license-plate readers, as a wave of physical sabotage against the cameras spreads.

newest coverage 3d agosummary written 3d ago9 pieces551 likes & upvotes25 comments Google NewsBlueskyNewswiresHacker NewsMastodon

What to know

  • An Institute for Justice analysis finds motor vehicle theft and arrest trends were already moving favorably before Flock cameras were installed, undermining claims of causation.
  • The study's headline 11 percent theft-reduction figure disappears when data are averaged across all agencies or weighted by population instead of weighted toward agencies with worse pre-existing theft problems.
  • Confounders like COVID-19 lockdowns and the viral 'Kia Challenge' theft trend were not fully accounted for in the original study Flock promotes.
  • The efficacy debate runs alongside a separate, growing wave of physical sabotage and public rebellion against Flock's camera network, per a New York Times opinion piece.

“fixed ALPR deployment is associated with lower theft and higher [arrests], alongside a modest reduction in recovery lag among recorded recoveries”

Study authors, Authors of the Flock-promoted working paper · Reason ↗ · Sep 17

Evan GreerEvan Greer Director, Fight for the FutureMatthew West Senior Research Analyst, Institute for JusticeFlock Safety Manufacturer of automatic license plate reader camerasInstitute for Justice Libertarian law firm, home of the Plate Privacy Project

Backlash Grows Against Flock Cameras as Crime-Reduction Claims Are Challenged
reason.com

How it unfolded 4 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 3 pieces in two hours at Sep 18, 9 AM; 9 pieces over 8 days (4 articles · 5 posts) Sep 16, 7 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Sep 16, 9 AM — quietSep 16, 11 AM — quietSep 16, 1 PM — quietSep 16, 3 PM — quietSep 16, 5 PM — quietSep 16, 7 PM — quietSep 16, 9 PM — quietSep 16, 11 PM — quietSep 17, 1 AM — quietSep 17, 3 AM — quietSep 17, 5 AM — quietSep 17, 7 AM — quietSep 17, 9 AM — quietSep 17, 11 AM — quietSep 17, 1 PM — quietSep 17, 3 PM — quietSep 17, 5 PM — quietSep 17, 7 PM — quietSep 17, 9 PM — quietSep 17, 11 PM — quietSep 18, 1 AM — quietSep 18, 3 AM — quietSep 18, 5 AM — quietSep 18, 7 AM — quietSep 18, 9 AM — 3 pieces · 2 articles · 1 post — Google News 2, Bluesky 1Sep 18, 11 AM — quietSep 18, 1 PM — quietSep 18, 3 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 18, 5 PM — quietSep 18, 7 PM — quietSep 18, 9 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Hacker News 1Sep 18, 11 PM — quietSep 19, 1 AM — quietSep 19, 3 AM — quietSep 19, 5 AM — quietSep 19, 7 AM — quietSep 19, 9 AM — quietSep 19, 11 AM — quietSep 19, 1 PM — quietSep 19, 3 PM — quietSep 19, 5 PM — quietSep 19, 7 PM — quietSep 19, 9 PM — quietSep 19, 11 PM — quietSep 20, 1 AM — quietSep 20, 3 AM — quietSep 20, 5 AM — quietSep 20, 7 AM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Hacker News 1, Mastodon 1Sep 20, 9 AM — quietSep 20, 11 AM — quietSep 20, 1 PM — quietSep 20, 3 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Sep 20, 5 PM — quietSep 20, 7 PM — quietSep 20, 9 PM — quietSep 20, 11 PM — quietSep 21, 1 AM — quietSep 21, 3 AM — quietSep 21, 5 AM — quietSep 21, 7 AM — quietSep 21, 9 AM — quietSep 21, 11 AM — quietSep 21, 1 PM — quietSep 21, 3 PM — quietSep 21, 5 PM — quietSep 21, 7 PM — quietSep 21, 9 PM — quietSep 21, 11 PM — quietSep 22, 1 AM — quietSep 22, 3 AM — quietSep 22, 5 AM — quietSep 22, 7 AM — quietSep 22, 9 AM — quietSep 22, 11 AM — quietSep 22, 1 PM — quietSep 22, 3 PM — quietSep 22, 5 PM — quietSep 22, 7 PM — quietSep 22, 9 PM — quietSep 22, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 3 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quietToday, 7 AM — quietToday, 9 AM — quietToday, 11 AM — quiet 1234
Sep 17Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22yesterdaynow · 12:40 PM ET
  1. 4

    Greer's Flock op-ed set for print edition

    Evan Greer notes her New York Times opinion piece on the anti-Flock rebellion will run in the paper's print edition, extending the story's reach.

    “My @nytimes.com piece about the rebellion against Flock will be in print tomorrow and that's pretty cool.”
    — Evan Greer
    • evangreer.bsky.social

      My @nytimes.com piece about the rebellion against Flock will be in print tomorrow and that's pretty cool.

      evangreer.bsky.socialBluesky3d ago405▲view on Bluesky ↗
  2. 1 day quiet
  3. 3

    Institute for Justice disputes Flock's promoted crime-reduction study

    Reason reports on an Institute for Justice analysis by Matthew West showing the working paper Flock promotes -- covering 216 agencies using Flock and 3,108 that don't -- found pre-existing trends in theft and arrests before camera deployment, and that the headline 11 percent theft drop vanishes when data are weighted by population instead of by agencies with bigger initial problems.

    “Because there were already differences in arrests and thefts trends before ALPR deployment, we don't know if the differences in ALPR deployment were caused by ALPR deployment…”
    — Matthew West, Institute for Justice
    1. 2 outlets The Shaky Evidence That Flock Cameras Reduce Crime Rates

      first by Reason, 5d ago · also Reason Magazine

  4. 2

    Evan Greer publishes NYT op-ed on rebellion against Flock cameras

    Fight for the Future's Evan Greer writes in The New York Times about a growing rebellion, including sabotage, against Flock's surveillance cameras and calls for reclaiming control over the technology.

    “NEW: I wrote for the @nytimes.com about the growing rebellion against Flock cameras, and what it can teach us about how to take back control of the technology that dictates our lives…”
    — Evan Greer
    1. 1 outlet Opinion | Why People Are Sabotaging Flock Surveillance Cameras

      first by The New York Times, 6d ago

    • evangreer.bsky.social

      NEW: I wrote for the @nytimes.com about the growing rebellion against Flock cameras, and what it can teach us about how to take back control of the technology that dictates our lives Please share widely and follow @fightforthefuture.org's campaigns to end AI surveillance.

      evangreer.bsky.socialBluesky6d ago121▲view on Bluesky ↗
  5. 1 day quiet
  6. 1

    NPR's Planet Money questions Flock cameras' safety benefit

    The Indicator from Planet Money examines how much safer Flock's automatic license plate readers actually make communities, ahead of the Institute for Justice's more detailed critique.

    1. 1 outlet first by NPR, 8d ago · read ↗

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