This Ain't Your Average Camera-Do We Really Need These Flock Cameras ?
The short version: A San Diego creator's on-the-ground look at Flock cameras in Mission Valley asks the right question: necessary tool or Fourth Amendment problem?
Our Take
Credit to R.C Entertainment for doing what local reporters and city councils too often skip: actually walking the neighborhood and pointing a camera at the cameras. Mission Valley is one of countless San Diego pockets now wired into Flock Safety's network, and most residents driving past these poles have no idea their plate, direction of travel, and vehicle details are being logged and stored, searchable by any agency with access to the system.
The video's framing is the right one. This isn't a debate about whether police should have tools — it's a debate about whether a dragnet that photographs every car, every day, regardless of suspicion, squares with a Fourth Amendment built on the idea that government shouldn't track citizens without cause. San Diego has leaned hard into ALPR infrastructure, and like most cities, there's been little public input on data retention, who can query it, or how it's audited once installed.
If you want to see whether Mission Valley or your own block has been flagged, check our camera map, and if you think your city council should be asking harder questions before the next contract renewal, our take-action page has the tools to push back.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of R.C Entertainment, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.