Ooh, fact cherry picking..

From wiki.. "The number of murders in Atlanta was 80 in 2009, 92 in 2010, 88 in 2011, 85 in 2012, 82 in 2013, 93 in 2014, 95 in 2015, and 111 in 2016." [0]

In fact, 2016 is also a blip and then it goes back down again until 2019, and 2022 was the high point. It is almost as if the incidence of homicides is entirely unrelated to flock.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Atlanta

I think the case against Flock isn't about its efficacy, it's simply about civil rights.

Similar to how gun laws aren't about the safety of guns, I think Flock cameras, and other surveillance technologies simply encroach on individual freedoms.

A citizen should be reasonably free from government surveillance.

I would also assume surveillance would increase crime that's reported, at least a little bit, since it would mean the police would be less likely to say what anyone who has lived in a higher crime area is familiar with hearing: "There's nothing we can do about it".

This reduction is happening across the board and isn't "because of flock".

I think that purpose statement implies good intentions - we all know measurement stats become the thing that is gamed to make one's organization look good and this is well documented for American law enforcement. Unless absolutely forced to, they simply do not measure things they do not want to report, i.e. prosecutors do not have to document racial backgrounds of accused to prevent racial discrimination from being proved in court (The New Jim Crow), crimes by law enforcement are underreported - especially fatal use of force - justified because "cop scared for his life" (Copoganda), tons of anecdotal evidence many cops will not investigate petty theft even when owners track down thief. The Wire kind of made fun of this "juking the stats" more than ten years ago (co-written by formal journalist David Simon).

If Cameras prevented crime, London would be some kind of Utopia.

2019 had 99 murders. This has absolutely nothing to do with Flock, and the notion is perverse nonsense.

Cameras do not prevent crime. This has been eminently shown endlessly. Now ideally they help then find the culprits, but in practice this just isn't happening.

The reduction in crime cannot be attributed to using Flock cameras, so the figures you give aren't meaningful for this conversation.

2021: I ate more hamburgers 2025: I ate less hamburgers

Prove to me it wasn't my hamburger eating.

Homicide rates have dropped similarly (or more) in less-surveilled cities like Baltimore.

Crime is complex, and it’s incredibly silly to look at those two variables and call it a day.

Seems a bit premature to attribute that solely (or even primarily) to Flock.

It also begs the question of if there is a deterrent effect from cameras to commit homicide, couldn't that deterrent be achieved with a far less controversial technology?

Eh 2020-2022 saw a nationwide increase in crime.