Flock Safety explores partnership with dashcam maker to expand surveillance
Flock Safety is reportedly exploring a partnership with dashcam maker Nexar to integrate automated license plate reader technology with consumer dashcams equipped with AI. The integration could expand surveillance capabilities by combining stationary roadside cameras with mobile, always-on vehicle-mounted recording systems that upload location data and images to central databases accessible by law enforcement.
What happened
Flock Safety, an automated license plate reader (ALPR) company, is exploring an integration with Nexar, a dashcam manufacturer, according to reporting by 404 Media and sources familiar with the matter. Two sources described the partnership as in early stages, and Flock confirmed it is exploring a relationship but stated it currently does not have a product offering with Nexar.
Flock's stationary cameras read license plates and capture vehicle make, model, and color, building a database that can track individuals' movements. Nexar's dashcams record video and location data from vehicles, generating trillions of images monthly from customers driving 150 million miles per month.
Reported impact
A partnership could turn private dashcams into roaming surveillance tools integrated with law enforcement data collection, significantly increasing the data available to Flock and its law enforcement customers. The combination of stationary readers and mobile dashcam data would create continuous tracking capability across public roads.
Flock's data is already used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and local police perform immigration-related searches using Flock for ICE.
Index analysis
Both companies' systems operate in public spaces where individuals have no legal expectation of privacy, collecting required license plates and location information. The concern is the aggregation of trillions of photos with location data into searchable databases that can reveal behavior patterns and movement history.
A combined platform could enable tracking of individuals' movements and regular locations, such as workplaces, in ways that go beyond the capabilities of individual cameras or readers acting alone.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.