Are vandals winning the war on Flock cameras?

Our Take

WKYC Channel 3, drawing on CNN correspondent Meena Duerson's interview with a masked activist going by 'NoMark,' puts a face on a trend we've been tracking for a while: people taking direct action against Flock Safety cameras because they feel shut out of the decision to install them. Whatever you think of property destruction as a tactic, the underlying message is worth sitting with — when city councils quietly approve networks of license plate readers with little public debate, some residents will eventually decide sabotage is the only lever left to pull.

We don't endorse vandalism, and we'd rather see this fight won in council chambers, courtrooms, and at the ballot box. But coverage like this confirms that Flock's rapid, low-friction expansion across American towns has outpaced the public's consent. Cameras get bolted to poles before most residents know they exist, let alone who can access the data or how long it's retained. That gap between installation and informed consent is exactly what's fueling anger like NoMark's.

If you want a lawful outlet for that same frustration, start by finding out what's actually watching your street on our camera map, then push back through the channels that actually change policy using our take-action guide. Credit to WKYC Channel 3 and CNN's Meena Duerson for putting this tension on camera — the more sunlight on both the surveillance and the backlash, the better.