Across the United States, local police departments are quietly installing a technology that tracks where we go, when we go there, and who we associate with - often with little oversight and no public debate. Police departments and municipalities are adopting automated surveillance systems that record our movements at scale and store them in centralized databases.
These tools are increasingly used not just for serious crimes, but for routine monitoring. In some cases, these tools aid federal immigration enforcement. As protections for protest, speech, and bodily autonomy are under attack nationwide, the expansion of mass surveillance should alarm anyone who values basic civil liberties - whether it’s a government pushing for fascism or private companies like Ring cameras not-so-subtly saying they can automatically track any of us. One of the most troubling examples of this technology is Flock.
Flock is a cloud-connected ALPR that syncs license plate readings from across the country into one database. According to its website,
“Flock Safety was founded with the mission to eliminate crime — and we’ve always believed that is possible while protecting civil liberties and encouraging positive, productive relationships with local law enforcement and their communities.”
It also claims, “Only authorized users can access the system and every search requires a search reason, which is collected in a publicly available audit.”
While it may have had honorable intentions before its founding in 2017, we see a common refrain here: “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Today, Flocks works with police departments, such as the one in Medford, Oregon, to aid ICE informally by cross-referencing license plate numbers in DHS databases with the Flock database. In some cases, Flock cameras have been misused by police chiefs to track ex-lovers and spouses. Even regular police officers like Jarmarus Brown in Orange City, Florida ran the plate numbers of his girlfriend and family through his system numerous times. Flock systems were even used by Texas police for a nationwide search for a woman who allegedly self-administered an abortion, with reproductive rights groups reporting that “there is an overwhelming fear” amongst women in Texas that “they’re being tracked by the state.”
With little oversight of the usage of Flock’s database, this means that officers can freely use the system for whatever they want, including aiding the inhumane and unconstitutional operations of ICE. Additionally, while claiming to be a secure system, people report that they’ve easily hacked into it. So if police officers are on the record doing this, imagine what random people worldwide are doing with access to a minimally secured network of cameras across America.
Finally, as you may have expected since we talk about poverty on this blog, Flock cameras in eastern Virginia are found at a higher rate in Black and high poverty neighborhoods compared to White neighborhoods. As these are the evolution of red light cameras, those, too, were found to be at a higher rate in Black and high poverty neighborhoods. I’ve seen that first-hand. When I lived in Queens Village, NY, we had red light cameras throughout our neighborhoods that were predominantly Black or impoverished. I rarely saw them in White neighborhoods. Flock claiming its cameras reduce bias is like saying, “This gun only shoots criminals.” The intent manifests from the user, not the tool.
We must pressure our local governments to revisit their contracts with Flock. They must ensure there is no cooperation with ICE.
Check out this map to find if Flock cameras are near you. If so, get in touch with your local elected officials to find out more. Feel free to call and air your concerns about Flock by using the below script:
Hello [OFFICIAL NAME], my name is [YOUR NAME], and I am a constituent in your district. I’m calling because I’m concerned about the city’s contract with Flock Safety, an Automatic License Plate Reader system that has been used across the country to unjustly surveil residents and possibly facilitate cooperation with ICE.
While there may be legitimate public safety uses for this technology—such as locating stolen vehicles or supporting Amber Alerts—the current lack of oversight, security safeguards, and clear guardrails is deeply concerning. I urge you to review this contract, ensure there is no cooperation with immigration enforcement, and implement strong protections for residents’ privacy and civil liberties. If this is not possible, then please end the contract with Flock.
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