WSBT 22: Digging deeper into what Flock cameras are capturing

Our Take

Credit to Eyes Off Indiana for pushing WSBT 22's reporting further than the usual press-release coverage local stations get fed by Flock Safety. Every time a reporter actually asks what these cameras capture, stores, and share, the answer turns out to be broader than the "it just reads plates for stolen cars" pitch police departments give city councils. That gap between the sales pitch and the data reality is exactly why independent digging like this matters.

License plate readers aren't neutral traffic tools. They build a rolling log of where you drove, when, and how often, searchable by any agency with network access — including out-of-state police, federal agencies, and in some documented cases, actors with no business looking at it at all. Once that log exists, it exists for everyone with a login, long after the "public safety" justification has faded from memory. Indiana residents deserve to know exactly which agencies are plugged into their local Flock network and what retention and sharing agreements actually say, not just what a vendor rep tells a city council meeting.

If you want to see how far this has spread in your own state, check our camera map for documented ALPR locations near you, and if you're ready to push back at a council meeting or with public records requests, our take-action page has the tools to get started.