Flock & ALPR Cameras in Columbus, Ohio
Volunteers have reported 34 automated license plate readers in and around Columbus — cameras that log every passing plate with a time and location.
On the record · Paused
Columbus is on the record here. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther paused the city's Flock use September 3, 2026. WOSU reported September 4 that Columbus Division of Police began covering the city's 65 Flock cameras. The city contract expires in December; council has not voted a terminate. Other local Flock (Ohio State, ODOT, nearby governments) is separate.
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- Oct 5 Flock Safety camera newly reported
- Sep 15 Flock Safety camera newly reported
- Sep 15 Flock Safety camera newly reported
Newly reported by volunteers — cameras may have been up long before someone mapped them.
Where the cameras are in Columbus
The readers mapped around Columbus break down as 28 Flock Safety, 3 of unrecorded make. Named operators in the reports: Flock Safety. The first camera here was reported in Nov 2024; the most recent in Aug 2026.
- East Whittier Street — 4 readers
- East 11th Avenue — 3 readers
- East 17th Avenue — 3 readers
- North High Street — 3 readers
- Greenfield Drive — 2 readers
- Reeb Avenue — 1 reader
- McGuffey Road — 1 reader
- East 8th Avenue — 1 reader
- North 4th Street — 1 reader
- Summit Street — 1 reader
- South Wall Street — 1 reader
- Greenlawn Avenue — 1 reader
+ 9 more streets and roads mapped around Columbus — all on the live map above.
Columbus OH PD and the sharing network
Per Flock’s own transparency portal, Columbus OH PD appears in the sharing network with connections to 35 other agencies.
Columbus in the Franklin County picture
Franklin County has 580 reported cameras county-wide and ranks #641 of 3,222 U.S. counties for cameras per resident. That’s across 1,321,635 residents and 3,317 road miles. By road density that is 0.17 cameras per road mile, in the top 1.8% of counties nationally.
Where contributors recorded what a camera watches, the split here is 30 traffic. Operators named on the record: Flock Safety (3).
Camera activity around Columbus, last 30 days
5 newly reported, 1 removed in our hourly change log for Columbus. Latest change logged Sep 2, 2026.
What’s watching Columbus
These aren’t red-light cameras. Automated license plate readers like Flock Safety’s photograph every plate that passes, log the time and place, and store it in a searchable database that’s often shared far beyond Columbus — here’s where that data goes. Counts cover cameras reported closest to Columbus (within ~20 km), so nearby towns share the same corridors. Spot one that’s missing? Report it on DeFlock.
The latest around Columbus
- 2 new license plate readers reported around Columbus, OH
- Ohio GOP lawmaker wants to ban most Flock camera surveillance
- Safety concerns remain across central Ohio communities amid Flock camera pause in Columbus
- Some central Ohio communities still using Flock cameras amid pause, misuse investigation in Columbus
What you can do in Columbus
Ask who approved these cameras, how long plate data is kept, and who it’s shared with. File a public records request, raise it at a council meeting, and see the full playbook on Take Action. Fighting this locally? Join or start a chapter and we’ll amplify you.
Not sure what one looks like? See photographs of installed cameras before you go looking.
Cameras near Columbus
← All Ohio cameras, counties & cities
Camera reports: the open-source DeFlock project. Place data: GeoNames (CC BY).