This Car Surveillance Startup Says It Cuts Crime, But It Likely Broke The Law

Forbes

The AI surveillance cameras on John’s Pass Bridge, southwest of Tampa, Florida didn’t last a week before they were flagged for breaking state rules.   Installed in February 2023 on behalf of car surveillance startup Flock Safety and its customer, the Treasure Island Police Department, the devices had been placed there without the approval of the Florida Department of Transportation. It wanted them taken down.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/02/27/flock-safety-surveillance-broke-state-law/?sh=7d2a60692a8f  Forbes Daily Briefing shares the best of Forbes reporting on wealth, business, entrepreneurship, leadership and more. Tune in every day, seven days a week, to hear a new story. Subscribe here: https://art19.com/shows/forbes-daily-briefing  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00 Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Saturday, March 2nd.

00:04 Today on Forbes, this $4 billion car surveillance startup says it cuts crime, but it likely

00:12 broke the law.

00:14 The AI surveillance cameras on Johns Pass Bridge, southwest of Tampa, Florida, didn't

00:19 last a week before they were flagged for breaking state rules.

00:24 Installed in February 2023 on behalf of car surveillance startup Flock Safety and its

00:29 customer, the Treasure Island Police Department, the devices had been placed there without

00:33 the approval of the Florida Department of Transportation.

00:36 It wanted them taken down.

00:38 In October, the agency was still waiting for their removal.

00:41 According to emails obtained by Forbes, an FDOT official wrote to Flock, "FDOT is requesting

00:48 that the Flock camera on the Johns Pass Bridge be removed.

00:51 FDOT does not allow installations on our structures except for special cases."

00:58 In November, a Flock employee took the camera down, the company confirmed.

01:03 For Flock, a $4 billion company on a mission to "reduce crime in America by 25 percent,"

01:10 this might sound like a simple paperwork slip-up, an anomaly.

01:14 But it's one of hundreds of such incidents across the country.

01:17 Company communications with state transportation agencies obtained via public records requests

01:22 and interviews with more than half a dozen former employees suggest that in its rush

01:27 to install surveillance cameras in the absence of clear regulatory frameworks, Flock repeatedly

01:32 broke the law in at least five states.

01:35 In two, state agencies have banned Flock staff from installing new cameras.

01:41 These violations are largely the result of the venture-backed startup's habit of installing

01:45 its surveillance devices along public roadways without the necessary permits.

01:50 Those documents are part of an approval process designed to ensure the cameras are positioned

01:54 safely, don't compromise utility lines or traffic lights, and cannot be dislodged by

01:59 bad weather or accidents.

02:01 As one former Flock employee put it, permitting is intended to make certain that "if a car

02:06 hits a camera going 80 miles per hour, it's not going to go through somebody's window

02:09 shield."

02:12 Responding to a detailed list of questions, Flock's spokesperson Josh Thomas told Forbes

02:17 that the company has nearly 50 people dedicated to permitting and "operates to the best of

02:22 our abilities within the bounds of the law."

02:25 He said that since jurisdictional boundaries are not always clear, Flock didn't always

02:29 know when and where it should be applying for a permit.

02:32 Thomas said, "For the tens of thousands of permits we have applied for and the tens of

02:37 thousands of locations that do not require permits, we have certainly not been perfect.

02:41 But we try to respond and fix any issues, or we make the effort to retro-permit as needed."

02:48 Founded in 2017, Flock's surveillance system uses AI to "fingerprint" cars based on make,

02:55 model, and appearance, not just license plate numbers.

02:59 It claims to currently operate in 4,000 cities in over 42 states, where it is found in eager

03:04 clientele in local police departments who say it costs less than competing devices and

03:09 is better at detecting suspect cars.

03:12 A typical Flock camera system starts at $3,000 a year, considerably less than rival Motorola's

03:19 Vigilant system.

03:21 Since 2020, Flock has seen a stunning 2,660% spike in revenue, one that landed it on Deloitte's

03:28 Fast 500 list in 2023.

03:31 Flock declined to comment on revenue numbers.

03:34 That spectacular growth has made investors giddy.

03:38 Flock raised $100 million in a July 2023 fundraise led by Andreessen Horowitz, which valued it

03:44 at over $4 billion.

03:46 But the company's growth has been bolstered by unpermitted deployments.

03:50 Company correspondence reviewed by Forbes reveals that Flock has deployed hundreds of

03:54 unapproved cameras in Florida, Illinois, and South Carolina, where it is a crime to install

03:59 devices on state infrastructure without Department of Transportation approval.

04:04 And it's run afoul of regulators in Texas and Washington over permitting issues.

04:10 For full coverage, check out Thomas Brewster and Cyrus Farivar's piece on Forbes.com.

04:17 This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

04:19 Thanks for tuning in.

04:20 [MUSIC PLAYING]

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