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 3 of 4 · RSS
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Liberty Hill City Council votes unanimously to end Flock Safety contract
cbsaustin.com
The Liberty Hill, Texas city council voted 7-0 to terminate its Flock Safety agreement, bar renewal in October, remove cameras under city jurisdiction and avoid future mass surveillance technology. Council members cited concerns over how license plate data is captured, stored and shared. Bastrop, Leander, Manor and Pflugerville have recently ended or moved to end Flock use, and Austin and San Marcos stopped in 2025.
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Wisconsin’s Flock Fight Just Became a Fourth Amendment Case
pjmedia.com
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty sued Waukesha County and 11 municipalities, asking a court to rule that police need a warrant before searching Flock Safety's vehicle location database. The complaint says Muskego police ran over 300 searches in one month while outside agencies ran more than 900,000 searches involving Muskego's nine cameras. Stevens Point suspended its cameras, and other municipalities are reconsidering contracts.
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Toledo council to unveil plan to audit Flock camera system
13abc.com
Toledo City Council members plan to introduce legislation calling for an audit of the city's more than 100 Flock license plate reader cameras. Councilman Mac Driscoll wants the system paused during the review, citing resident concerns about data use, while Councilman John Hobbs III argues it should keep running absent proof of local misuse. No improper searches have been reported in Toledo or Lucas County.
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Oconomowoc Moves to Kill $18,000 Flock Camera Deal Amid Statewide Backlash
hoodline.com
Oconomowoc's Common Council is set to vote on cutting $18,000 from its budget, which would end the city's six Flock Safety license plate cameras after three years. The article compiles related Wisconsin developments: two former Milwaukee officers charged with using Flock to track ex-partners, a wrongful gunpoint stop caused by a stale alert, and contract terminations in Menasha, Stoughton, Sheboygan, and Fond du Lac County.
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Manvel City Council Votes Unanimously To End Flock Safety Contract
texasscorecard.com
Manvel, Texas council members voted 6-0 to cancel the city's Flock Safety contract and cover its 16 license plate reader cameras within 48 hours. Mayor Dan Davis said 535 outside agencies retained access to the city's camera network after 149 were cut. A Flock representative said camera data helps train the company's AI. Police reported 138 department searches in a monthly audit with no sign of misuse.
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Sheboygan votes to end Flock contract amid data concerns
wbay.com
The Sheboygan Common Council voted unanimously to end the city's contract with Flock Safety, effective at year's end, after officials said they found contract violations related to data management and sharing. The city had already covered its 15 cameras in August. Racine County, Fond du Lac County, Manitowoc, Kenosha and Winnebago County have also paused or ended agreements, while Milwaukee tightened access policies and launched transparency portals.
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Lebanon shuts off Flock cameras after company fails to reply to letter with concerns
wvxu.org
Lebanon, Ohio, council voted to immediately shut off and cover 20 Flock Safety license plate readers after the company did not answer a mayoral letter containing 54 questions about data retention and access within 21 days. Officials cited Mountain View's discovery of a changed nationwide search setting and a reported offer to sell five years of data to Sheboygan, Wisconsin. A motion to terminate the contract failed 4-3.
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Bastrop City Council votes to terminate Flock contract, prevent similar cameras in the future
kbtx.com
Bastrop, Texas, city council voted to immediately end its contract with Flock Safety and to bar future automated license plate reader contracts in the city. Residents had pushed for removal after the cameras were covered the prior week. The report notes Texas Gov. Greg Abbott paused funding for the cameras and Sen. Lois Kolkhorst called for a ban, with College Station scheduled to vote September 24.
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Editorial: More cops are accused of misusing Flock cameras. This is becoming too much like Big Brother
timesleader.com
A Chicago Tribune editorial cites reviews in West Chicago and Itasca after officers allegedly used Flock for unauthorized purposes, and an officer accused of hundreds of searches of former partners. It notes Washington Post reporting that at least 50 officers have been charged or accused of misusing ALPRs, describes Flock's shortened seven-day default retention, and lists Illinois municipalities ending or suspending contracts.
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Flock cameras draw opposition from across the political spectrum
mprnews.org
Opposition to Flock license plate readers is emerging as a bipartisan political issue ahead of the midterms. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro called for legislation banning them, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis moved to revoke permits on state highways, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott froze state spending. Senate Republicans are investigating police misuse, and polling shows more Americans disapprove of the cameras than approve.
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The Flock-Off Act (HR 10221) Would Defund Every Police Plate Reader in America. Here's the Catch.
youtu.be
Thomas Massie filed H.R. 10221 this week. Yes, it's really called the Flock-Off Act
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Lynchburg City Council votes to end Flock Safety contract amid surveillance concerns
wsls.com
Lynchburg City Council voted 6-0 to direct the city manager to notify Flock Safety that the company's cameras will no longer operate in the city. Council members said staff could not confirm whether microphones as well as cameras would be removed, or give a removal date. The city may owe $35,000 for early termination, and a follow-up vote was scheduled. Cameras remain offline.
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A new bill reflects the bipartisan backlash against Flock-enabled mass surveillance
reason.com
Reps. Thomas Massie and Eric Burlison introduced the Flock-Off Act, which would bar federal funding of license plate readers except at the border or for toll enforcement, with cosponsors from both parties. A YouGov survey found 46 percent of respondents opposed police ALPR use, up from 33 percent a year earlier. The piece also notes Sen. Josh Hawley's investigation of Flock and the Institute for Justice count of 157 local governments canceling contracts.
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Florida bans Flock cameras and other license plate readers from state highways
nbcnews.com
Florida's Department of Transportation revoked all prior approvals for license plate readers in state highway rights-of-way, citing a rapid increase in deployments plus reports of misuse and data privacy concerns. The order does not cover private property or local rights-of-way, where officials say 98% of cameras sit, though the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office ended its program anyway. Flock said a ban was the wrong response and cited recent cases solved.
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The debate around Flock cameras intensifies in Sonoma County
sebastopoltimes.com
A Penngrove resident's petition demanding removal of Flock license plate cameras in Sonoma County gathered 214 signatures, citing surveillance and data-sharing concerns. A Sebastopol councilmember opposed the cameras, referencing ICE. A Sheriff's Department spokesperson said data is kept 30 days, is not linked to the DMV, involves no facial recognition, and is audited, crediting the cameras with aiding three homicide investigations in fiscal year 2025-26.
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Flock contract cancellations grow among cities, other jurisdictions
thehill.com
Tempe and Cave Creek, Arizona, terminated their Flock Safety license plate reader contracts, joining more than 90 jurisdictions tracked by DeFlock that have cancelled or rejected the technology. Officials cited high-profile misuse cases, including a Washington Post finding that over 50 officers were accused of improper ALPR searches. Senator Josh Hawley opened an investigation, and Flock announced new audit and lockout features.
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Residents voice concerns over Flock cameras at Santa Rosa Community Advisory Board Meeting
northbayvanguard.com
At a July 22 Community Advisory Board meeting, Santa Rosa Police Chief John Cregan presented on Flock cameras and ALPRs, and residents alongside the North Bay Organizing Project questioned auditing of outside agency searches, data retention, and crime-prevention metrics. The department says data is kept 30 days and not shared federally. Over 730,000 plate reads were logged in 30 days, with more than 300 California agencies granted access.
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Flock camera vandals say privacy reforms aren’t enough: ‘The changes are bull----’
nbcnews.com
Flock Safety announced reforms on Aug. 13, including shorter data retention and new oversight, following a wave of activist vandalism against its nationwide network of surveillance cameras. Activists targeting the cameras say the changes do not address their concerns. The report notes that some communities have persuaded local governments to cancel Flock contracts while others renew each year.
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Flock camera sabotage grows amid privacy concerns
youtu.be
According to the video description, cities across the country are unplugging Flock cameras used to record traffic and other violations as privacy concerns grow. The segment, reported by Jason Allen for CBS Evening News, also refers to sabotage of the camera units. No further detail is available in the posted text.
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Fight Creepy ALPR Cameras ("Get The Flock Out")
aclu.org
The ACLU's campaign page against ALPR deployment, with an organizing toolkit for residents seeking to end local contracts. It puts the Flock network at roughly 120,000 cameras, states that fewer than one percent of scanned vehicles connect to a crime, and catalogs uses by federal immigration agents and against critics of police departments.