Another Arkansas city drops Flock cameras
The short version: Another Arkansas city, reportedly Mayflower, is pulling the plug on Flock cameras after officials weighed solved cases against cost and privacy concerns, per THV11.
Our Take
Credit to THV11 for reporting a story that doesn't fit the usual Flock Safety sales pitch: a police department admitting the cameras helped crack cases, then still deciding to walk away. That's a harder story to tell than "cameras bad" or "cameras good," and it's the kind of nuance this debate needs more of.
What's notable is the subtext. If a department is willing to give up a tool that's demonstrably helped solve crimes, it means the tradeoffs — cost, contract terms, or unease about a private company amassing a searchable database of every car that passes through town — are heavy enough to outweigh the wins. That's a rare moment of a city actually doing the math on mass surveillance instead of just renewing the subscription on autopilot.
Every one of these reversals chips away at the industry talking point that ALPR networks are an inevitable, uncontroversial public safety upgrade. They're not inevitable — they're a policy choice, city by city, and this is proof that choice can go the other way. Check our camera map to see what's deployed near you, and if your town is still debating a Flock contract, our take-action page has tools to help make your case at the next council meeting.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of THV11, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.