Articles
What the Flock?
An index of reporting, court records, and public filings showing what happens beyond Flock's public-safety claims. These are the documented problems, mistakes, and abuses that can be easy to miss when the story comes only from the vendor or the agencies using the cameras.
75 articles · page 2 of 4 · RSS
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Roseburg residents voice Flock concerns at City Council Meeting
nbc16.com
Residents at a Roseburg, Oregon city council meeting raised privacy and plate-misread concerns about the city's Flock cameras during public comment. The council postponed a planned Roseburg Police Department presentation on the system, which stated that data is shared only with Oregon Flock partners and access is limited to department personnel. The city authorized its Flock contract in 2023 and renewed it this year for 15 cameras through 2028.
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City Council passes temporary ordinance continuing Flock shutdown
newbedfordlight.org
The New Bedford City Council voted 8-3 for a temporary ordinance barring license plate reader use and blocking renewal of the city's Flock contract, which expires Nov. 12. Cameras have been off since August after two officers were accused of using them to track romantic partners. Police Chief Jason Thody sent an 11-page response backing audits, retention limits, and public reporting while opposing disclosure of camera locations.
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Watsonville City Council limits Flock cameras
pajaronian.com
The Watsonville City Council voted 4-3 to remove 17 of its 37 Flock cameras, cut data retention from 30 days to seven and end sharing with other California police agencies. The city will also commission a third-party audit and hold a town hall. Police said Flock assisted in 894 cases, though the chief estimated about six were primarily solved with it. Monterey County voted the same day to remove its 63 cameras.
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At least 900 Flock cameras have been unplugged in Texas since state funding was cut
keranews.org
At least 14 Texas cities and counties have shut off more than 900 Flock cameras after Gov. Greg Abbott blocked state grant money in late August. Laredo will put a nonbinding referendum on keeping 165 cameras to voters in May. Pflugerville and Hutto ended contracts after learning hundreds of outside agencies had accessed their camera data.
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Plymouth is latest Minnesota city to ditch Flock cameras
mprnews.org
The Plymouth, Minnesota city council voted to end use of the city's 16 Flock license plate reader cameras, with only the mayor dissenting. Council members cited concerns that agencies outside Plymouth could access the data, referencing reporting that federal agencies obtained Minnesota Flock data for immigration enforcement and that about 50 officers nationally were accused of misuse. Plymouth joins more than a dozen Minnesota jurisdictions pausing or ending Flock use.
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Monroe Kills Flock Safety Contract, Shuts Down All 23 License-Plate Cameras
hoodline.com
Monroe's city council voted unanimously to end its Flock Safety contract, switching off all 23 license-plate-reading cameras. Aggregated reporting says more than 50 agencies or communities have canceled, suspended, or rejected Flock contracts since the start of 2026, and Flock now recommends seven-day data retention plus tools to flag abusive searches. Ohio has no statewide ALPR retention or audit rules.
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Local city council unanimously votes to end contract with Flock amid privacy concerns
dayton247now.com
Monroe, Ohio council members voted unanimously to terminate the city's Flock Safety contract and deactivate all 23 license plate reading cameras. The city had approved a two-year contract in 2024 at a cost of $149,950. Residents spoke on both sides, with some citing a digital dragnet and others arguing plates in public view carry no privacy expectation. Council members noted voters could restore the program later.
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County supervisors vote to take down all sheriff's Flock cameras
montereycountynow.com
Monterey County supervisors voted 3-2 to decline a proposed $1.7 million, 10-year Flock Safety contract and directed the Sheriff's Office to end access to 63 cameras and remove them within 60 days. Deputies had queried the system nearly 20,000 times in a year, with an estimated 500,000 queries by partner agencies. Officials cited earlier improper out-of-state access; the sheriff and district attorney defended the technology.
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Auburn voters to decide on automatic license plate reader ban next year
wgme.com
Auburn city councilors rejected immediate adoption of a citizen-led petition to ban automatic license plate readers, sending the measure to a special election within four to six months. The petition followed residents learning that police had installed Flock Safety cameras last summer; the units are currently switched off because of budget cuts. The city attorney said the ban's wording could block police access to other law enforcement databases.
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Flock Offers Employees Buyouts as Customers Flee
wired.com
Flock Safety opened a voluntary severance program for its roughly 1,500 employees, described internally as its most generous ever, as the company loses customers. One advocacy group counted 93 city and county governments ending ties with Flock in August alone, with about three times as many local governments dropping the company in 2026 as in the prior five years. Vandalism of cameras has also raised costs.
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@northbayvanguard on Instagram: "Over 400 people showed up to yesterday's Flock camera and ALPR meeting, hosted by the Santa Rosa Police Department."
instagram.com
According to the post description, over 400 people attended a Flock camera and ALPR meeting hosted by the Santa Rosa Police Department. Attendees were divided into small discussion groups to raise concerns rather than speaking at an open-mic forum. North Bay Vanguard says it interviewed attendees about their views on the cameras.
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Hutto City Council votes to end use of Flock Safety license plate readers
communityimpact.com
Hutto City Council voted unanimously on Sept. 18 to discontinue the police department's use of 10 Flock Safety license plate reader cameras, which were taken down before the vote. City staff cited concerns that partner agencies accessing the data are not bound by Hutto Police Department policies, along with questions about artificial intelligence developments. Nearby Pflugerville, Bastrop, Liberty Hill and Leander also recently ended Flock use.
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Flock Camera Hacked, Data on Thousands of Vehicles Retrieved
texasscorecard.com
A hacker group calling itself stegan0gram physically removed and reverse engineered a Flock camera, sharing methods and data with media. Wired reported the device logged 21 days of activity covering about 50,200 vehicles, and that its software detects people in images, though no facial recognition was found. Flock called the tampering illegal and pointed to its vulnerability disclosure process. Several Texas cities have recently cancelled or paused Flock contracts.
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Texas freezes installation of Flock cameras along state roads
kvia.com
The Texas Department of Transportation stopped issuing permits for Flock cameras and other license plate readers along state roads at Gov. Greg Abbott's direction, a pause that does not remove existing devices, including more than 900 operated by the Department of Public Safety. The move followed Abbott's funding freeze after a Tribune investigation into $30 million directed toward over 3,200 cameras. Florida ordered removals in August.
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Santa Rosa police chief faces packed house over controversial Flock cameras
yahoo.com
Santa Rosa Police Chief John Cregan held a forum attended by 400 to 500 people about the department's 143 Flock license plate reader cameras. Residents objected to contract terms granting Flock a perpetual license to the data and said outside agencies searched Santa Rosa data about 486,000 times a month versus roughly 5,000 local searches. Cregan said procedures had already been modified.
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Three More Cities End Flock Partnerships
seehafernews.com
Waukesha, Oconomowoc, and Racine each voted to end their contracts with Flock Safety's automated license plate reader program. Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said the technology assists in solving crimes but that public trust and transparency matter as well. The report notes other departments in Wisconsin are reviewing privacy protections and vendor practices tied to automated camera systems.
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Hackers Stole Flock’s Camera Software, Revealing How the Company Tracks Cars and People
404media.co
Hackers removed a Flock camera, copied its storage, and recovered an on-device encryption key, sharing the files with 404 Media and WIRED. Analysis showed the software explicitly detects people as well as vehicles, plates, and bicycles, and logged about 50,200 vehicles and 1.6 million images over roughly 21 days. Reporters found no active face recognition, and the plate detector sometimes cropped bumper stickers and a flag patch.
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BREAKING: County Board votes to end Arlington’s use of Flock cameras
arlnow.com
The Arlington County Board voted to discontinue use of 41 county-leased Flock Safety devices, 26 license plate readers and 15 pan-tilt-zoom cameras, and to begin removing the equipment within 14 business days. Data not tied to active investigations will be deleted. The program, costing $106,250 plus a $93,000 annual fee, was never formally presented to the Board and drew resident-led opposition campaigns.
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Boston drivers’ data left unsecured during Flock pilot due to vendor ‘error,’ city officials say
boston.com
Boston's 2025 annual surveillance report states that three days into a 45-camera Flock pilot, police found the nationwide data-sharing feature had been enabled by the vendor in error despite a contract barring sharing. BPD ordered it disabled and says it will not use Flock again. The report logged 15 watchlist requests, 12 approved, and no internal misuse complaints. More than 20 Massachusetts communities have ended or suspended Flock contracts.
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El Paso City Council to vote Tuesday on removing Flock cameras
kfoxtv.com
El Paso City Council is set to vote on directing the city manager to remove all Flock license plate reader cameras from city-controlled property within 60 days, and on a second item requiring council approval for any future ALPR contracts. The city's 150 cameras were funded by the state Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, and the police department halted use after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a funding pause amid misuse and privacy concerns.