Flock cameras are almost everyplace and often hide successful plain sight.
A Flock camera is an automated licence sheet reader, aliases ALPR, made by the public-safety exertion institution Flock Safety.
The cameras are commonly installed on roads, astatine intersections, adjacent vicinity entrances, and astir businesses aliases different backstage properties.
When a conveyance passes, the camera captures an image and uses instrumentality learning to move its licence plate, color, make, model, and different supported specifications into searchable information.
That makes them some very useful for those deploying them, for illustration the police, and worrisome for anyone seeking privacy.
Flock says its licence sheet readers do not usage facial nickname and that customers — meaning the ones putting up the cameras, not the ones being monitored — tin power entree to and sharing of the information collected.
"They are built to attraction connected the conveyance progressive successful an incident and the specifications that tin thief separate it from different vehicles connected the road," Flock says.
The institution says that conveyance records are automatically deleted aft 30 days by default, though customers whitethorn configure different retention periods erstwhile contracts and section laws permit.
Who makes Flock cameras?
Flock cameras are manufactured by Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based institution that develops surveillance and public-safety technology.
Its CEO, Garrett Langley, founded the institution successful 2017. In a blog station published successful May, he wrote:
Nine years ago, I lived successful a vicinity successful Atlanta wherever crime was ticking up. People were breaking into cars and pulling firearms retired of mitt boxes. Nobody seemed capable to do thing astir it.A constabulary awesome told maine thing I've ne'er forgotten: much than 70 percent of crime involves a vehicle, and astir of those crimes spell unsolved because constabulary seldom person the licence plate.So I did what engineers do. I built a strategy to find the plate. A fewer months later, it worked, and that was the opening of Flock.Its customers now see constabulary departments, section governments, businesses, schools, homeowner associations, spot operators, and different backstage organizations.
Flock says that it has deployed immoderate 120,000 cameras crossed 49 states. In an X post, Langley said that during a azygous time connected July 31, those cameras alerted authorities to much than 4,000 activity offenders, immoderate 2,100 stolen cars, complete 1,600 wanted people, astir 160 missing people, and, astir importantly, he said, 1 Amber Alert.
Flock operates arsenic a subscription business, charging yearly work fees for each camera. After its past fundraising information past year, Flock was weighted astatine $7.5 billion.
The institution besides sells accepted video cameras, audio-detection technology, investigative software, and drones.
Why do group dislike Flock cameras?
Many Americans dislike Flock cameras because the devices tin cod accusation astir mean drivers who are not suspected of crimes.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for civilian liberties successful the integer world, says Flock cameras represent mass surveillance because they photograph each passing conveyance alternatively than only those connected to suspected crimes — for illustration a velocity camera might.
Critics opportunity a wide web of cameras tin uncover friendly patterns showing erstwhile a conveyance visited peculiar homes, businesses, aesculapian facilities, belief institutions, aliases governmental events.
"It has been misused by constabulary to spy connected their ex-partners and could beryllium utilized to target group engaged successful First Amendment activities aliases seeking aesculapian care," the EFF wrote successful a blog post.
The EFF obtained records showing that Texas deputies queried Flock's web during an investigation involving a female suspected of self-managing an abortion. The EFF and the ACLU person besides reported that section constabulary departments shared aliases searched Flock data for immigration-enforcement purposes.
Flock says that information sharing tin grow the system's scope by allowing agencies to hunt records collected extracurricular their jurisdictions.
The EFF says Flock contracts person dispersed "quietly" crossed cities, while the ACLU's organizing materials impulse residents to analyse contracts, metropolis proceedings, data-sharing practices, and rules governing entree earlier their municipalities acquisition aliases renew the systems.
Like thing utilizing AI, Flock besides doesn't ever get it right. A misread sheet tin lead constabulary to extremity aliases detain the incorrect person.
In Roseville, California, for example, Flock incorrectly read the sheet successful 71% of 1,427 stolen-vehicle and felony alerts issued during 2023 and 2024, a Business Insider investigation found.
Business Insider documented drivers being stopped astatine gunpoint and jailed pursuing incorrect Flock matches. In Toledo, Brandon Upchurch was bitten by a constabulary dog, taken to the hospital, and past jailed aft a Flock camera confused a "7" connected his sheet for a "2."
Are location Flock cameras adjacent me?
Flock does not people a complete nationalist representation showing each camera successful its network.
The institution says its cameras are utilized by rule enforcement agencies, businesses, homeowner associations, and different backstage organizations successful the United States.
One measurement to find adjacent cameras is to usage DeFlock, an open-source, community-run task that maps automated licence sheet readers.
Local authorities records tin besides explain the location of cameras purchased aliases operated by nationalist agencies. The ACLU says that residents tin hunt metropolis assembly agendas, constabulary section policies, contracts, purchasing records, and gathering minutes for position specified arsenic "Flock Safety" aliases "automated licence sheet reader."
A increasing number of towns and cities person canceled their Flock contracts aliases banned Flock cameras altogether. Local governments often mention Flock's willingness to stock information pinch the national authorities and different privateness concerns successful their decisions.
What does a Flock camera look like?
A emblematic Flock licence sheet scholar looks for illustration a mini rectangular container mounted adjacent the apical of a constrictive roadside pole.
Several installations are besides equipped pinch a mini star sheet mounted connected the pole, allowing the camera to run without a accepted relationship to the electrical grid.
The camera is usually angled toward 1 aliases much postulation lanes to photograph the beforehand aliases rear of passing vehicles.
Flock says its cameras tin beryllium recovered on roadworthy shoulders, successful medians, adjacent vicinity entrances, and astir parking lots.
Are Flock cameras unconstitutional?
The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable authorities searches and seizures, but courts person not ruled connected Flock cameras. The rule mostly treats licence plates and vehicles driven connected nationalist roads arsenic accusation successful the nationalist domain.
"ALPR cameras beryllium astatine fixed and evident locations and registry still images of vehicles astatine that location and time. They do not travel a conveyance from root to destination, screen only a mini fraction of a city's roads, and supply samples, not a seamless diary of one's movements," Flock said successful a achromatic insubstantial published successful November 2025.
It added that "the law interest arises erstwhile exertion stitches together a broad image of someone's movements complete clip that tin uncover friendly and delicate details. Fixed, point-in-time roadway observations inhabit the different broadside of that line."
Privacy and civil-liberties groups disagree. The ACLU and EFF opportunity that networked cameras tin collectively create a elaborate and searchable grounds of wherever group travel, moreover if each camera captures only 1 location astatine a time.
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