Police departments are embracing AI-powered video surveillance. This company is leading the effort

Flock Safety’s license-plate readers and camera-carrying drones are the stuff of public safety advocates’ dreams—and civil liberty advocates’ nightmares.

A red Hyundai SUV makes its way through downtown San Francisco on a bright August afternoon. The car looks innocuous, but a day earlier, police had linked it to the break-in of another car and added it to a so-called hot list of wanted vehicles. Now the city’s license plate recognition cameras, or LPRs, are stationed at major intersections, ready and waiting.