Flock Cameras
The short version: A local news segment shared by RickieBobbieNO26 shows Decatur, Alabama residents blindsided by 40+ Flock cameras that quietly ran for three years without public notice.
Our Take
Credit to RickieBobbieNO26 for surfacing this WAFF 48 report, because the story out of Decatur is the same one we keep hearing across the country: a surveillance network gets installed quietly, operates for years, and only becomes public knowledge when a reporter starts asking questions. Three years of unnoticed monitoring isn't an oversight — it's the default playbook. Cities sign contracts, cameras go up on utility poles, and residents find out they've been tracked only after the fact.
Alabama's numbers make this local story a statewide warning. More than 2,000 ALPRs already blanket the state, and that count keeps climbing with zero requirement that the public be looped in before deployment. Decatur isn't unique, it's just the town that got caught this week. Every city council that approves a Flock contract behind closed doors is betting residents won't notice or won't care. This time, they noticed.
If you want to know whether your own neighborhood has been added to that count without your knowledge, check our camera map. And if you're ready to push back at your next city council meeting, our take-action page has the tools to help you do it.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of RickieBobbieNO26, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.