Why People Are Destroying Flock Cameras

Our Take

Jack Neel's video taps into something we've been tracking for a while: people are fed up with license plate readers popping up on their streets without a vote, a hearing, or even a heads-up, and some are responding with a crowbar instead of a comment card. We can't verify every incident or motive the video touches on, but the broader pattern is real and well documented — Flock cameras have been vandalized, spray-painted, and torched in cities across the country.

That frustration doesn't come out of nowhere. Flock's pitch to police departments skips the public almost entirely: no referendum, no community vote, just a contract and a camera pole. When residents feel locked out of decisions about being tracked on their own block, some will eventually take matters into their own hands. We don't endorse property destruction, but we understand why people are angry — this is what happens when surveillance expands faster than accountability.

If you'd rather fight this with sunlight than sabotage, that's exactly what we're here for. Check our map to see what's already watching your neighborhood, and visit take action for ways to push back through public records requests, city council meetings, and organizing — tools that don't get you arrested and actually build lasting pressure against unchecked ALPR expansion.