Flock

The Shaky Evidence That Flock Cameras Reduce Crime Rates

Flock has been promoting a recent study of its cameras' impacts on car theft. But the paper didn't demonstrate a causal effect.

Autumn Billings | 9.18.2026 4:35 PM

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Do Flock cameras actually reduce crime? A new analysis by the Institute for Justice casts doubt on Flock Safety's claims that its automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) significantly reduce car theft and increase clearance rates. 

Flock Safety has been promoting a working paper that examines whether the company's controversial and hotly debated cameras improve outcomes for motor vehicle theft. To test the effects of Flock's surveillance network, the study uses data from 216 agencies that began using Flock in the period from 2017 to 2023, and 3,108 agencies that did not. The authors then evaluated the cameras' effects on monthly motor vehicle thefts, arrest rates for motor vehicle........

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