Cleveland’s Flock Cameras Tapped Nearly 2,000 Times for ICE

Cleveland.com reports that the city’s Flock Safety license plate reader system has been used nearly 2,000 times for immigration-related searches. That’s a striking number for a network of cameras most residents were told would be used to fight local crime like carjackings and hit-and-runs.

Why this matters

Automated license plate readers (ALPRs) like Flock’s don’t just watch for stolen cars. They log every plate that passes, building a searchable record of where vehicles have been and when. Many cities, including Cleveland, adopted this technology with promises that it would stay local and be used for specific, serious crimes. When that same database gets queried nearly 2,000 times for immigration enforcement, it’s a real-world example of how surveillance tools can drift far from their original, publicly stated purpose.

This isn’t unique to Cleveland. Across the country, local police departments often share access to Flock networks with other agencies, including federal ones, through data-sharing agreements that residents rarely see or vote on. Once a camera network exists, controlling who can search it becomes an ongoing political and legal fight, not a one-time decision.

What we know so far

The available reporting tells us the scale of the searches, nearly 2,000, but not yet the full details of how, why, or under what authority each search happened. We’re not going to speculate beyond that. What’s clear is that this raises legitimate questions for Cleveland residents and their elected officials about oversight, transparency, and whether current policies actually limit how this data gets used.

What you can do

If you live in or near Cleveland, this is a good moment to ask your city council members directly: who can search these cameras, under what rules, and is there any public audit of that access? You don’t need to be an expert to ask for basic accountability. You can also check whether Flock cameras are active in your own community using our interactive map, and learn more about how these systems work and what data-sharing agreements typically look like on our learn page.

Local surveillance decisions are usually made with little public input, which is exactly why sustained, informed pressure from residents matters. Visit our take action page for concrete steps you can bring to your next city council meeting.

Source: Cleveland.com