Two Conn. towns turn off automated license plate reader cameras due to privacy concerns
The short version: Two Connecticut towns pumped the brakes on Flock cameras over surveillance and data-sharing fears, proving local pushback can actually work.
Our Take
Credit to WTNH News8 for covering a story that doesn't get enough airtime: towns actually hitting pause on Flock Safety deployments. Windsor and its neighbor didn't just rubber-stamp these systems — residents and officials asked basic questions about who sees the data, how long it's kept, and whether it gets shared with outside agencies. When those answers weren't good enough, the cameras stayed dark. That's how it's supposed to work.
This matters because the default in most towns is the opposite: a vendor demo, a quick council vote, and cameras go up before anyone reads the fine print on data retention or third-party access. Connecticut's pause is a reminder that ALPR networks aren't neutral traffic tools — they're databases of everyone's movements, and once the data's flowing to other agencies or federal systems, there's often no local control left to pull back. Two towns saying 'not yet' is a small but real check on that creep.
If you want to see whether your own town is already wired up, check our camera map, and if you'd rather your city council ask the same hard questions Windsor did, our take-action page has the tools to push for it.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of WTNH News8, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.