HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 0693INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
No. 23-0693
X1134
1875
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
May 2, 2023
Page 1 of 1
SUBJECT: USE OF FLOCK CAMERA SEARCH FUNCTIONS
This informal report provides information about Flock Safety cameras and their Advanced Search
Package. The Fort Worth Police Department has access to all the search functions that Flock
Safety currently supports. The Advanced Search Package includes three functions: Convoy
Analysis, Multi-Geo Search, and Visual Search. The Advance Search features use artificial
intelligence (AI) in the following ways:
• Convoy Analysis is able to identify vehicles that have been documented as frequently
traveling together to identify possible accomplices to a crime.
• Multi-Geo Search has the capability to connect crimes across different locations to a
possible common suspect vehicle.
• Visual Search is able to scan evidence provided/uploaded by the victim of a crime or a
business. Some examples are neighborhood security footage, such as Ring doorbell
camera footage, mobile phone photos, and closed-circuit television CCTV still images to
conduct a vehicle search. Utilizing Al, Visual Search can also provide officers with the
capability to search for a suspect vehicle when only the make or model and color are
known.
The current annual subscription price for the department to add the Advanced Search Package
depends on the number of Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras we are operating,
as follows:
• $2,500 for fewer than 25 ALPR cameras
• $3,500 for 25 to 49 ALPR cameras
• $5,000 for 50 or more ALPR cameras
The Police Department has the Advanced Search Package, but we do not need to pay Flock
Safety for this feature. When the feature was in the product development stages, Flock Safety
began testing and running the program in Fort Worth. Once the development of the Advanced
Search features reached the level of commercialization, Flock Safety did not and will not charge
our Police Department for the Advanced Search Package.
Through the use of advanced search functions of the Flock camera system, we are working to
sharpen our approach to apprehending violent felons with the end goal of the reduction of violent
crime. In the last 365 days, we have had 1,992 calls generated by the Real Time Crime Center
that can be attributed to all Flock technology including the advanced search feature. Of those
Flock related calls, 406 resulted in an arrest. The Fort Worth Police Department has seen a direct
correlation between the Flock camera system and an increased clearance rates for cases.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding Flock Safety's Advanced Search Package,
please contact Deputy Police Chief David Carabajal at david.carabajal@fortworthtexas.gov or
817-392-4311.
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER
FORT WORTH, TEXAS