A local group has launched \u201cDeFlock SF,\u201d a hub mapping Flock and other automated license plate reader cameras around San Francisco, while tracking news and controversy surrounding the surveillance technology.<\/p>\n
In response to concerns surrounding the 400 Flock cameras across San Francisco<\/a> that were installed by the SFPD, the group behind DeFlock SF<\/a> is documenting the growing network of automated license plate readers, as well as updates regarding legislation and court cases. <\/p>\n DeFlock SF\u2019s map draws from the national DeFlock database<\/a>, which reportedly tracks Flock cameras and other ALPR devices, as well as public cameras, speed cameras, and other sensors.\u00a0<\/p>\n As NBC Bay Area reports<\/a>, DeFlock SF founder Zachary Schwartz has emerged as a prominent critic of the San Francisco Police Department\u2019s use of Flock cameras. He appeared before the Police Commission earlier this summer to call for a comprehensive audit of how the cameras are being used and what data they collect.<\/p>\n The DeFlock SF project stems from growing concerns about who can access the information collected by the cameras. Earlier this year, it was revealed that federal agencies had accessed San Francisco\u2019s license plate-reading data<\/a>. A police spokesperson told NBC Bay Area that the data has since been walled off.<\/p>\n A separate 3D map<\/a> being developed from the same data recently counted 2,608 documented devices within 10 miles of San Francisco, which the creator described on Reddit<\/a> as one of the densest concentrations they had found.<\/p>\n Both maps show cameras concentrated along major traffic routes including Van Ness Avenue and Market Street, with clusters in neighborhoods such as the Mission and South of Market. One Redditor highlighted the particularly large number of cameras around Dore Alley, where the annual \u201cUp Your Alley\u201d queer leather fetish event takes place, calling the concentration \u201cfrightening.\u201d<\/p>\n According to DeFlock, there are an estimated 100,000 Flock cameras and other ALPR devices across the US that collectively scan about 20 billion license plates each month. Flock\u2019s system differs from some other ALPR networks in that it automatically allows participating law enforcement agencies to share and search license plate data across jurisdictions.<\/p>\n DeFlock SF says SFPD has spent nearly $4 million on the system, with annual renewal costs of about $1.2 million.<\/p>\n