Feb 29, 2024,06:30am EST
In 2021, the affluent San Marino town in Los Angeles County witnessed a notable reduction in residential burglaries, dropping by 80% from January to May compared to the same period in 2020.
This statistical decline became a marketing boon for Flock Safety, the company responsible for installing AI-powered license plate readers for the San Marino Police Department in June 2020. Flock capitalized on this data, asserting that its technology played a pivotal role in reducing not only burglaries but also overall crime in the town by 70%.
However, a broader analysis paints a different picture. Despite the initial five-month drop in 2021, residential burglaries increased overall after Flock’s cameras were deployed. In 2019, San Marino reported 60 residential burglaries, whereas in 2023, three years after Flock’s installation, the number rose to 63, representing a 5% increase.
Moreover, Part 1 crimes, including larceny and murder, remained relatively stable, with 231 incidents reported in 2023 compared to 230 in 2019, the year before Flock’s cameras were installed.
Even San Marino’s police chief, John Incontro, acknowledges that the 70% claim, still featured on Flock’s website, lacks accuracy. “I definitely need to talk to their marketing folks,” he conceded to Forbes.
This isn’t the only instance of Flock embellishing crime statistics to bolster its marketing efforts. The company has selectively chosen and simplified data to support its claims of crime reduction, not just in San Marino but also in Fort Worth, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; and Lexington, Kentucky.
Flock’s spokesperson, Josh Thomas, defended the company’s approach, stating that their case studies aim to showcase how different communities across the U.S. utilize their technology to enhance case clearances by law enforcement.
However, criminal justice academics have criticized Flock’s methodology, calling its conclusions into question. Michael Sierra-Arévalo of the University of Texas at Austin labeled the company’s claims as “ludicrous” without substantial evidence, while Columbia University’s Jeffrey Fagan doubted the validity of Flock’s research.
Despite these criticisms, local leaders and law enforcement officials in various cities have embraced Flock’s marketing claims to promote the adoption of their license plate readers. The company’s installations have received substantial funding, contributing to its rapid growth and widespread deployment across the United States.
However, the true impact of Flock’s technology on crime rates remains difficult to ascertain. While some officials praise its usefulness in tracking down suspects, others remain skeptical about its overall effectiveness in reducing crime.
As more cities consider deploying Flock’s cameras, questions persist about the technology’s efficacy and the validity of the company’s marketing claims in influencing public policy and expenditure on surveillance technology.