Flock Safety's AI License Plate Cameras Had 71% Error Rate in Roseville, California Police Alerts

An internal police analysis in Roseville, California, reveals that Flock Safety's AI-powered cameras had a 71% error rate, misreading plates in 1,013 out of 1,427 stolen vehicle or felony alerts across 2023 and 2024. While Roseville's strict verification policy prevented wrongful stops, similar misreads elsewhere have led to innocent people being detained or injured. Flock Safety attributes the errors to Roseville's unique rear-facing camera setup, while lawmakers call for urgent legislative oversight.

Flock Safety camera error rates

• ▪An analysis by the Roseville Police Department found that Flock Safety's AI-powered cameras had a 71% error rate across 2023 and 2024
• ▪Out of 1,427 alerts flagging vehicles as stolen or connected to felonies in Roseville, California, 71% contained misread license plates
• ▪In April 2025, Roseville crime center supervisor Amanda Jones notified Flock Safety that 16 of 17 flagged license plates from the prior week were incorrect

AI license plate misread patterns

• ▪Roseville police records document that Flock Safety's cameras missed vehicles entirely, captured blurry images, and confused similar characters like 'N' for 'V'
• ▪Flock Safety's machine-learning software repeatedly confused a '9' on a Roseville resident's license plate for an '8', triggering six separate felony alerts

Roseville deployment configuration issues

• ▪Roseville configured its Flock Safety cameras to capture only the backs of vehicles to avoid recording personally identifiable information like faces
• ▪Flock Safety stated that Roseville's setup included older hardware and camera placement higher and further from vehicles than typically recommended

Consequences of misread alerts

• ▪An LAPD Inspector General audit found nearly one-third of Flock Safety's stolen-vehicle alerts were false positives, leading LAPD to let its contract expire
• ▪None of the incorrect Flock Safety alerts in Roseville, California resulted in a traffic stop or arrest due to a local verification policy
• ▪In Toledo, Ohio, a Flock Safety camera misread a '7' as a '2', leading to driver Brandon Upchurch being mauled by a police dog

Legislative responses to errors

• ▪Montana, Virginia, Washington, and Kentucky have passed laws requiring officers to independently verify license-plate reader alerts before initiating a stop
• ▪California Assembly Member Josh Lowenthal called the Roseville errors disturbing and stated he would call for a state-wide review of license plate reader reliability

Flock Safety company responses

• ▪Flock Safety claims that in optimal conditions, its AI-powered cameras accurately read more than 96% of license plate characters
• ▪Flock Safety attributed the high error rate in Roseville to the city's unique, atypical camera deployment configuration