Private company owns your street cameras

Flock Safety, a private company, leases and operates thousands of cameras on street corners across the US that most people think are run by local government or police.

How Flock cameras actually work

Flock's automated license plate readers capture 6 to 12 images of each passing vehicle, recording license plates, car details, bumper stickers, damage, and even temporary paper tags using AI and machine learning.

Cameras recognize and track people

Flock cameras can identify people and zoom into their faces, see what they're doing on their phones, and store pictures of humans alongside vehicle data.

“They have pan-tilt-zoom cameras that recognize people and zoom into their faces. You can even see what they're doing on their phone.”

Strangers could access camera feeds

Researchers found 70 Flock cameras accessible on the open web without passwords, allowing anyone to watch live video feeds and track people's daily habits for weeks.

“I was able to find out if somebody was jogging on a trail every morning at 7:00 in the morning at dawn.”

Flock employee accessed children's gym

A Flock employee accessed live video from a children's gymnastics room at a Jewish community center in Dunwoody, Georgia, claiming it was a demo of content moderation features.

Police accessed kids' spaces without consent

Public records revealed Dunwoody Police accessed live feeds from baseball fields, gyms, libraries, playgrounds, and pools without expressed parental consent.

Patent reveals tracking by appearance

Flock's US patent describes using neural networks to identify and track humans, filtering them into searchable databases by age, clothing, gait, gender, height, race, and weight.

Track anyone through their car

Business owners, police, and homeowners association representatives with Flock access can search for a car's characteristics and track the human driving it across the entire national network.

“It's basically like having a GPS tracker on your car that a complete stranger can access.”

Hardware vulnerabilities in police cameras

Researchers uncovered multiple hardware and software vulnerabilities in Flock police cameras that could be exploited for unauthorized access.

Flock's crime statistics don't add up

Flock claims its technology solves 2,800 crimes weekly and 700,000 crimes annually, but the research supporting these claims is written by Flock employees and lacks independent review.

“The research that they most often point to is literally written by their own employees and not reviewed or anything.”

Police used cameras to track protesters

In November 2025, the Electronic Frontier Foundation revealed police used Flock's ALPR network to track activists and protesters across cities.

ICE agents accessed school camera data

A 404 Media investigation revealed that ICE agents accessed Flock data through local police departments to aid immigration enforcement operations.

Residents didn't know about contracts

Many people discovered their cities had signed expensive Flock contracts only after camera poles appeared on street corners, sparking growing concerns about surveillance.

City councils voting despite vulnerabilities

Even after being shown unreported security vulnerabilities by researchers, some city council members have voted to keep or expand Flock camera contracts.

“I've sat down with city council members and showed them vulnerabilities that haven't been reported yet that are really, really concerning, and then they've voted along with Flock anyway.”

Weston Missouri removes Flock cameras

The city council in Weston, Missouri voted to remove Flock cameras this week following significant pushback from residents concerned about surveillance.

San Jose residents sue over surveillance

San Jose residents filed a lawsuit against their city over its Flock Safety camera contract, claiming the license plate-reading technology enables mass surveillance.

Oakland cameras vandalized with paint

Someone paint-bombed nearly 300 Flock camera poles in Oakland, California after the city council renewed its ALPR contract and approved 40 new livestream cameras.

Auburn cameras stolen and destroyed

In Auburn, California, police are searching for people who stole three Flock cameras and dumped two of them in a nearby canal.

Follow the money to stop expansion

Flock takes city officials to dinner and police recommend expanding contracts, leading to taxpayer-funded upgrades. Get involved in city council meetings to challenge these decisions.

“They bring city council members and police officers out to dinner. Then, police departments recommend to city council members to keep increasing Flock cameras.”