How Flock Is Connecting Investigations Across Washington State
The short version: Flock's own promo video spins statewide ALPR data-sharing in Washington as a crime-fighting triumph, glossing over the surveillance dragnet it actually builds.
Our Take
This one comes straight from Flock Safety's own channel, so take the framing with a grain of salt. The pitch is simple: crime crosses city lines, so your car's movements should be tracked across them too. What they don't dwell on is that 'connecting investigations across Washington' means dozens of local police departments are feeding plate scans into one shared, searchable database — no warrant, no court order, just a login.
Framing this as seamless cooperation hides the real shift: a patchwork of small-town cameras becomes a de facto statewide tracking network, built by a private company and marketed to departments like a product upgrade. Once that data exists in one place, it doesn't stay confined to 'solving crimes' — it's available for whatever use case comes next, with minimal public input into how far the net extends or who gets access.
If you're in Washington or anywhere else, it's worth knowing how far this web already reaches near you. Check our camera map to see what's been documented in your area, and visit our take-action page if you want to push back on your city council before the next 'connection' gets made without you.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Flock, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.