A gunshot detection system has been installed in the City of Ithaca. Provided through a company called Flock Safety, the ‘Raven’ audio sensors will operate in conjunction with a network of ‘Falcon’ Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR) strategically placed across Tompkins County.
A gunshot detection system is used to identify the sound of gunfire and triangulate its approximate location. Raven is described by Flock as ‘a network of audio sensors, machine learning algorithms, and cloud-based software’ to specifically detect gunfire while ignoring other audio stimuli.
In an email, Tompkins County Sheriff Derek Osborne confirmed that Raven devices had been installed, writing ‘They are in place and will be activated soon.’
In a subsequent email inquiry regarding the activation status, Osborne responded, ‘They’re installed and being calibrated now.’
The email exchange was prompted by a December Ithaca Voice story detailing the deployment of Falcon ALPR that did not mention the Raven gunshot detection aspect of the Flock Safety system.
Flock has stated ‘Raven integrates directly with the Flock Safety Falcon™ AL PR camera.’
Flock claims that 70% of gun crime involves a vehicle. By rapidly pinpointing the approximate location of a shooting with Raven, law enforcement will be able to track suspect vehicle’s paths to and from the scene of a crime using Falcon ALPR.
The Falcon ALPR will not indiscriminately target vehicles, Osborne explained, writing ‘Flock will only trigger on vehicles entered into a hotlist by an investigating agency.’ A vehicle with suspended registration or expired insurance would not trigger Flock.
‘The program is not connected with the DMV database in any way,’ Osborne wrote.
Most of the approximately $380,000 from the Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative was dedicated to Flock, according to Osborne.
GIVE is a statewide strategy by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services to address gun violence.
The City of Ithaca also agreed to provide an additional $70,000 toward ALPR within the city.
The plan to implement the hybrid gunshot detection/ALPR system was originally presented by Flock representative Laura Ann Holland during the August 2022 City of Ithaca City Administration meeting.
Holland explained there is an annual cost of $2,500 per device to utilize the Flock system.
Osborne estimates there are 52 Falcon ALPR, in addition to an undisclosed number of Raven devices.
At that figure, 60 devices would have an annual fee of $150,000. Holland mentioned a one time installation fee paid for each device, a figure in the hundreds of dollars. It is unclear how the remainder of the funds dedicated to Flock are being utilized. Cornell and Cayuga Heights Police will have their own Flock devices, according to Osborne. Osborne hopes ongoing funding through GIVE will cover the recurring annual cost of Flock.
Assurances of the system’s respect for data privacy and limited scope of use were repeatedly made by Flock representatives, who guarantee a 30 day window before automatic deletion of unused information. Flock claims the Raven system detects only gunshots.
A previous version of Flock’s website dedicated to Raven claimed the system could detect screeching tires, breaking glass and sawing metal in addition to gunfire. That version of Flock’s website is archived here.
According to Holland, more than 2,500 cities have joined Flock’s network.
In March 2022, the American Civil Liberties Union published a white paper titled “Fast-Growing Company Flock is Building a New AI-Driven Mass-Surveillance System,” saying the company is “building a form of mass surveillance unlike any seen before in American life.”
The ALCU has been voicing concerns about the technology for more than a decade, as discussed in this local news report from Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2013.