'Not enough lipstick to put on this pig': Roanoke residents rally against Flock

Our Take

WFXR News captured something refreshing: everyday residents refusing to let a police department's PR gloss settle the debate over automated license plate readers. The rally's signature line — that there's "not enough lipstick to put on this pig" — cuts right to the core problem with Flock's pitch everywhere it sets up shop. Departments tout cleared cases and recovered stolen cars, but they rarely mention the blanket tracking of every single driver who passes a camera, guilty or not, that makes those stats possible.

That's the trade nobody votes on directly. City councils approve these contracts in budget line items, not referendums, and by the time residents learn their daily movements are being logged into a searchable, often shareable database, the system is already live. Roanoke's organizers deserve credit for forcing the conversation into the open rather than letting "it helped solve a crime" be the final word.

This is the same fight playing out in towns across the country, and it only moves forward when locals get the receipts. Check our camera map to see what's tracking you in Roanoke and beyond, and hit take-action for tools to push back at your next city council meeting.