California police use tire screeching sounds to combat sideshows

Two Bay Area cities are testing technology aimed at detecting and alerting police about sideshows, according to Flock Safety, a law enforcement technology company that created 400 new license plate reading cameras in San Francisco.

The new device uses artificial intelligence technology to listen for specific types of tire screeching, differentiating between sounds made during a sideshow and those of, say, those about to hit the car in front, said Holly Beilin, spokeswoman for Flock Safety.

The sensors are “able to recognize continuous tire screeching sounds and other sounds that may indicate sideways phenomena and alert law enforcement with very high accuracy,” Beilin said.

Herd officials declined to say which cities are using the sideshow detection device or comment on whether other cities have discussed adopting the technology.

Jeff Cretan, a spokesman for Mayor London Breed, said San Francisco would consider expanding the use of Flock devices.

“We have a great cooperation with Flock,” said Cretan. “Their automatic license plate readers were a game changer and we continue to evaluate their products in our city.”

Sideshows, unsanctioned stunt driving events that have long troubled communities across the Bay Area, have recently come under greater scrutiny as lawmakers impose tougher penalties on both drivers and other participants.

It was not immediately clear whether the Flock Safety technology was used to disrupt sideshows or when it was installed.

City leaders have faced criticism for years from residents fed up with local fringe events, saying officials aren’t doing enough to respond to unruly and often dangerous events.

Although San Francisco’s current license plate readers don’t record audio, Beilin said Flock’s new sideshow detection technology could work well with its cameras.

“If an officer cannot immediately arrive on scene to capture the license plates of suspect vehicles involved in sideshows, (license plate reader) cameras can provide evidence so officers can take further action,” Beilin said.

Several other Bay Area cities, including Oakland, Vallejo, Richmond and Fairfield, already use Flock license plate readers to help police make arrests. This month, the company said more than 5,000 communities across the United States are using its technology.

While local police and city officials have praised Flock cameras as high-tech crime-fighting aids, the devices have raised concerns about potential violations of privacy rights.

In a federal lawsuit filed this week, the public interest law firm Institute for Justice alleged that the ubiquitous “area” created by the cameras violates Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.

The lawsuit names two residents of the Virginia cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth as plaintiffs, claiming that the installation of cameras prevents them from driving around the city without the system recording their movements.

In a statement responding to the lawsuit, Flock said that “license plate readers do not constitute a warrantless search because they take photos of cars in public places and cannot continuously track any person’s movements.”

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