DELAWARE — Discussions and concerns about the purpose of Flock AI cameras and their data-sharing abilities are at an all-time high.
The artificial intelligence-powered cameras are Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) systems.
Law enforcement agencies across central Ohio use them to track and identify vehicles, but skeptics worry the cameras track their every move and share that data with other organizations.
Delaware Police Chief Adam Moore wants to dispel misconceptions about Flock, so he invited Delaware Source to watch him walk through how he and other officers use the system.
The Delaware Police Department (DPD) operates and utilizes 17 cameras within city limits. Delaware City Council approved an ordinance authorizing a three-year master services agreement with Flock Group Inc. in December 2024.
How police use the system
Moore used the license plate number from his city-issued vehicle for the demonstration.
“According to policy, we have to have an incident number or a case number assigned to utilize the system. And those get assigned due to valid complaints,” Moore explained.
Those incident and case numbers are assigned by the Delaware County Emergency Communications Center.
“The dispatch center is a separate county agency from us, so there are some checks and balances built into the process that would identify there being an issue,” Moore said.
Before an officer can search the Flock system, they must enter a number associated with the complaint they are investigating.
“The system on Flock will not allow our officers to run a Flock search without an incident or case number, so nobody could just look up any car they felt like looking up,” Moore explained.
To conduct a search, officers must enter the associated incident or case number, provide a reason for the search and enter whatever information they have about the vehicle’s license plate.
Moore noted that witnesses or crime victims don’t always capture a complete license plate number. Sometimes they may remember only part of the plate, the state where it was issued or details such as the vehicle’s make, model and color.
Officers can enter the information they have and narrow the search to a specific date or time frame to identify vehicles that may match the description.
What Flock images look like
In Moore’s search of his car, Flock cameras picked up the license plate number several times. Each Flock camera capture showed a wide-angle shot of the back of the vehicle and a close-up of the license plate.
There was no image that provided any glimpse into the physical description of the driver, and Moore pointed out that is often the case — he cannot usually determine the race or sex of the driver.
“If you notice, there’s no other hits on Monday, Aug. 3, so my question to you is, where did I go? All my whereabouts, are they being tracked? We have no idea because this was the only hit from Monday,” Moore said.
He noted the system is not perfect, because that same day he drove by another Flock camera on U.S. Route 42, yet there was no picture in the system.
“This gives us a picture from a public space of a vehicle on a public street, it doesn’t tell us whether that vehicle’s involved. It doesn’t tell us who’s driving that vehicle. It just gives us somewhere to start,” Moore said.
“We have to do a little investigative work to tie you to that car. I run the plate, but I have absolutely idea if that’s you. Is it your husband? Is it your girlfriend? It could be a friend you loaned the car to.”
Important DPD policies
With an active case or incident number tied to an investigation, Delaware officers can search not only the city’s Flock cameras for a vehicle, but also Flock camera networks outside the city.
“Part of the power of the system is the ability for us to share information. A lot of crime is regional, it’s not just local, and we sit adjacent to a very large metropolitan area,” Moore said.
The system can also alert Delaware police when a camera detects a license plate associated with a stolen vehicle, wanted person or missing person through the National Crime Information Center.
Officers can also add license plate numbers associated with their own investigations to an alert list.
Moore said that is less common at DPD, and if an officer wants to enter a license plate number into the system, a supervisor must approve that action.
The Delaware Police Department also restricts officers from other jurisdictions from using DPD data for immigration or reproductive care-related searches.
“Should the Delaware Police Department become aware that officers or agents elsewhere are using our data in violation of Ohio law, we would pursue that to the best of our ability,” Moore said. “If we find out that our officers are engaging in policy violations, they could be disciplined up to termination.”
The department also conducts an annual audit of Flock searches to ensure officers are using the system properly.
Moore said the department completed that audit earlier this year, finding one minor issue caused by a glitch in the system.
No officers have been disciplined or fired for misusing Flock, he said.
The department also does not require officers to log in or use the system every day, meaning some officers use it more frequently than others.
Moore did not have a comprehensive count of how many cases involving Flock resulted in an arrest or assisted another law enforcement agency. However, the system allows officers to voluntarily record the outcome of cases in which Flock was used.
More than 50 cases had outcomes recorded in the system. Because officers are not required to document those outcomes, Moore said the number does not represent every case in which Flock has assisted the department.
“I can’t tell you how many of those would not have been solved with Flock, because some of those likely would have been solved without Flock,” he said. “But I can also tell you that likely there’s some on the list that probably would have never been solved without Flock.”
Moore said if anyone is still concerned about how Flock works, he would personally demonstrate how the system works to them.
