Flock! I hate being wrong! In my recent letter to the editor, I made the basic error of confusing the concept of automated license-plate readers, or ALPRs, with the company, Flock Safety. Considering the level of surveillance since the Patriot Act, it did not seem like an overreach if it helped understaffed police. I was so wrong.

Over Thanksgiving dinner, I talked with someone whose company provides ALPR systems, mainly for vehicle parking access and billing. He said that, within the industry, Flock and similar surveillance-tech startups are viewed as security nightmares. He provided supporting information.

Basically, Flock technology is buggy, poor quality and over-priced. The company’s cameras use an outdated, easily-hacked Android operating system. The Flock software can be reconfigured to do a variety of things, up to and including manipulating images. Data is not deleted after seven days and still can be accessed — like “deleting” something but not emptying the trash on your laptop.

While facial recognition may not be “operational,” the device is a camera that captures images. That visual record can be processed to extract a wide variety of data. Getting into the back-end of the system is just as easy, exposing data on police, including patrol car locations in real time and even personal officer data.

Then there is the cost. More traditional ALPR companies sell their equipment and charge a one-time fee, with no monthly charges. Complete local control — no data being sucked up into a massive system where anyone can share anything with anyone else.

While I still think this sort of technology has utility, Flock as a vendor was an uninformed choice. Eugene was right to cancel the contract.

Ted Coopman
Eugene