When the camera was wrong.

71% of felony and stolen-vehicle alerts stemmed from plate misreads

Police department records showed 1,427 alerts identifying vehicles as stolen or potentially connected to felony crimes. The department's own analysis found the software had misread the plate in 71% of them.

This is the error rate among the 1,427 alerts reviewed. It is not the error rate across every plate the cameras read, and it must never be stated as though it were.

The other side Flock's response: most of the misread data came "from 2025 or before," "the camera performance has significantly improved," and the city used older hardware at non-standard installation locations farther from vehicles than recommended.

Source · Business Insider, via Gizmodo and Davis Vanguard, August 2026 · read it

Auburn, WA — wrong man arrested after Flock-driven shooting investigation

After a 3 a.m. shooting, Auburn police used Flock cameras to identify a suspect vehicle and arrested a Des Moines, WA man in his 40s who police later said had "no involvement." He was interviewed and released; a different person was subsequently arrested for felony harassment. The department spokesperson attributed the initial account to internal miscommunication. The incident came one week after residents objected to the city's 37 Flock cameras at council.

It was a mistake on my end...It was a miscommunication between me and the person I got the information from.

— Police spokesperson Kolby Crossley

The other side The department attributed its initial account to internal miscommunication. The man was released and a different person was later arrested.

Source · Auburn Reporter · read it

Inspector General audit found 32.3% of stolen-vehicle alerts were false positives

Across August and September 2025, an audit by the Los Angeles Police Department's Office of the Inspector General counted 337 accurate stolen-vehicle alerts and 161 false positives out of 498, across a network of nearly 2,000 cameras. The department let its Flock contract lapse.

these inaccuracies can affect individual liberty interests, erode public trust, and potentially create substantial legal and financial liability concerns

— Office of the Inspector General

Source · LAPD OIG report BPC 26-184x, July 11, 2026 · read it

Institute for Justice: at least 27 documented wrongful stops, detentions, or arrests from ALPR errors

IJ identified at least 27 documented cases in which ALPR errors led to wrongful stops, detentions, or arrests, the majority after 2023. Roughly two-thirds involved officers drawing guns before the error was discovered. About one-third stemmed from machine errors (character misreads, obstructions) and two-thirds from human errors (bad data entry, misinterpretation). IJ notes Flock claims 93% plate-read accuracy against 20+ billion monthly captures.

No one should have to prove their innocence on the side of the road because a camera couldn't tell a zero from an O.

— IJ attorney Michael Soyfer

The other side No Flock statement is included. Flock claims 93% plate-read accuracy.

Source · Institute for Justice · read it

Joel Feder — automotive journalist tracked for days, boxed in by four squad cars (Plymouth, MN)

A New Jersey manufacturer plate reading "34 10 DTM" was entered into NCIC as "34 DTM," omitting the middle characters. Automotive journalist Joel Feder, driving a loaner Range Rover, was tracked over multiple days and then surrounded by four Plymouth squad cars in a Kohl's parking lot. The Plymouth chief acknowledged the data-entry error originated elsewhere.

The reason you have four cops here is because your license plate is registered as stolen license plates in our system.

— An officer at the scene

The other side Flock said an alert should be one part of an investigation, not the whole basis for a stop. The chief acknowledged the data-entry error originated elsewhere.

Source · CBS Minnesota · read it

Volusia County, Florida — woman jailed 13 days in a fatal hit-and-run; wrong vehicle

Investigators arrested 23-year-old Lindsey Isaacs after witnesses described a black SUV and Flock cameras captured her black Durango near the crash site around the time of the collision. Investigators later determined the striking vehicle was a maroon Dodge Durango driven by another person. Isaacs spent 13 days in jail before charges were declined.

I feel there's really no way of correcting what they did to me.

— Lindsey Isaacs

The other side Florida Highway Patrol declined to answer questions, calling the case active. The camera was one input among witness statements, not the sole basis for the arrest.

Source · WKMG / ClickOrlando · read it

Deputy added a woman he met on a film set to a hotlist, then pursued her at 70 mph

A Monroe County deputy met a 27-year-old actress while working security on a television production. He searched state and federal driver databases repeatedly and added her vehicle to a plate-reader hotlist so the system would alert him to her movements. Sixteen days later he pursued her at up to 70 mph through no-passing zones, nearly causing a head-on collision, and stopped her. He was fired and charged with felony misuse of law enforcement computers and networks.

I told you I’d find you and pull you over.

— The deputy, during the stop

The other side He was fired. The case has not been tried.

Source · Local 10 · read it

Couple detained at gunpoint over a one-character misread, infant in the car

A camera misread a plate by one character and flagged a black Chevrolet Tahoe as stolen. An officer stopped the vehicle in a parking lot and drew his weapon; the driver and a passenger seated next to a one-month-old child were detained. The vehicle was not stolen. The department later established a transparency portal stating data is retained 30 days and requires a valid reason for access.

It's horrifying, and that's only going to become more common as these license plate readers proliferate.

— Michael Soyfer, Institute for Justice

The other side No vendor response appears in the article.

Source · KATV (ABC, Little Rock), March 18, 2026 · read it

San Diego — man jailed nearly a month after a Flock "vehicle signature" hit five miles from the crime

After an attempted carjacking in Golden Hill, a Flock camera in Old Town captured a different red Alfa Romeo 23 seconds after the pursuit began, five miles away. A detective wrote that he recognized the vehicle in the image "due to the red paint and black tinted windows." Three men were arrested. Hugo Parra spent nearly a month in jail before charges were dropped.

This Flock hit was obviously the wrong car, as it could not have been in both places simultaneously.

— Attorney Alex Coolman

The other side San Diego Police and the City Attorney declined to comment, citing pending litigation. Flock offered no statement.

Source · Times of San Diego · read it

Eva Pizzarelli v. Town of Cumberland — $750,000 false-arrest suit (Rhode Island)

After a fleeing vehicle eluded a stop, an officer described the driver as a "white, middle-aged woman, with red hair." Police used Flock footage and Facebook searches to identify Eva Pizzarelli, who was arrested during an unrelated traffic stop and held over six hours. Charges were dismissed. She sued in U.S. District Court for false arrest, malicious prosecution and negligence, seeking $750,000. The town denies the claims and asserts qualified immunity.

Now that I see you in person, I am 1,000% sure it was you.

— The officer allegedly told her

The other side The town denies the claims and asserts qualified immunity. The allegations are unproven.

Source · North Carolina Lawyers Weekly · read it

Plate reads used to build a reason to search a car

Court records show deputies tracked a man’s vehicle on Flock cameras travelling between Wisconsin and Michigan, then coordinated a traffic stop on his return. The criminal complaint cited the travel pattern itself as grounds for suspicion.

The vehicle travels to Michigan frequently which is a known source State for Marijuana as it is legal there.

— The criminal complaint

The other side A bail-jumping charge was dismissed; he was convicted only of marijuana possession.

Source · 404 Media · read it

City audit: only 8% of accepted alerts related to a criminal incident

The Office of Inspector General reviewed the city's plate reader programme. Of the alerts generated, 66% were accepted and the rest rejected. Misreads accounted for about 25% of all alerts.

Only 8% of all accepted hits are vehicles that are related to a criminal incident.

— Seattle Office of Inspector General

The other side The OIG also states it "is limited in assessing if the technology is used in a manner that impacts civil liberties or disadvantaged populations" for lack of deployment data.

Source · Seattle Office of Inspector General, 2024 · read it