Anthony Sistilli builds police-tracking camera

Canadian YouTuber Anthony Sistilli created a license plate reader to track police officers using Flock-style technology.

Police officers visit Sistilli’s home

Peel Regional Police officers arrived at his home on Sept. 20 after he produced two short videos for his 140,000 YouTube subscribers.

Officers’ concerns about police tracking

Officers worried mapping police movements could risk officers and help criminals, and said their cameras weren’t as concerning as Sistilli suggested.

“Their concern was that mapping police movements could put officers at risk and help people committing crimes”

Flock’s surveillance expansion

Flock operates over 120,000 devices across 49 states, photographing license plates and adding details to a massive database accessible to law enforcement.

Flock’s misuse controversies

Local police departments used Flock data to track immigrants and stalk ex-partners, leading to arrests and incarcerations.

153 cities reject Flock cameras

At least 153 cities have refused to deploy Flock cameras or canceled existing contracts due to privacy concerns.

Sistilli’s camera prototype

Sistilli built a basic camera system using Amazon’s camera, his laptop, and machine learning software to detect police vehicles.

Sistilli tests camera in Brampton

Sistilli recorded two police cars passing in an hour at a Brampton police station after testing his camera for a few days.

Police visit Sistilli’s home

Peel Regional Police officers visited Sistilli’s home on Sept. 20 after he published his second video.

“I had collected very little data and hadn’t publicly released actual licence plates or identifying information about individual officers”