Suffolk County delays controversial rollout of Flock Safetys Raven listening system

Suffolk County has unexpectedly delayed the replacement of its current gunshot detection system with a more controversial and potentially invasive version from Flock Safety.The unexplained setback, revealed Wednesday during a county planning committee meeting, comes after multiple instances of vigilante vandalism in Suffolk against Flock Safety’s controversial camera system, as residents continue to show up and share their protests of the tech in local Town Hall meetings.Officials instead renewed its contract with SoundThinking, the company behind the current ShotSpotter system, which Suffolk police have been using for the last decade, for another year for $1.2 million.“To ensure continuous public safety and avoid a lapse in coverage, the department sought to amend its contract with SoundThinking due to unforeseen circumstances surrounding the acquisition and implementation of a new system,” representatives from the Suffolk County Police Department told The Post. “Extending services with SoundThinking will prevent any operational disruption and ensure the department can continue to meet its public safety needs,” they said. Last month, the county quietly inked a nearly $4 million deal with Flock Safety to roll out its new listening devices, dubbed the “Raven” system, which flag gunshots, car crashes, “loud community disruptions” and more. Currently, Suffolk’s ShotSpotter system only listens for the specific sound of gunfire, and doesn’t connect with or operate any cameras or store people’s information, officials confirmed to The Post.Flock Safety, on the other hand, is already blanketing Long Island with over 700 highly controversial AI-powered surveillance cameras, according to DeFlock, an activist group tracking the company’s surveillance and expansion.These cameras scan and store info on every car that drives past, including its license plate, distinct features like dents, bumper stickers and more, as well as the location data, and th...