‘Get the Flock Out!’: Group demands Cleveland schools end Flock camera contract

Our Take

Credit to 19 News (WOIO) for putting a camera on this fight. When a group shows up demanding a district 'get the Flock out,' that's not a fringe complaint — it's parents and community members asking why a camera network built to track cars is anywhere near a school campus at all. Schools are supposed to be safe, bounded spaces, not another node in a nationwide ALPR dragnet that logs who comes and goes, when, and how often.

The pattern here is familiar: a district signs a Flock contract, often with little public debate, and the first anyone outside the school board hears about it is when cameras are already mounted. By the time parents organize and show up with signs, the system is already ingesting plates, timestamps, and location data — data that can sit in a shared network well beyond the original 'school safety' pitch. That's the core problem with Flock's business model: once the hardware's up, rolling it back takes public pressure, not just a change of heart from administrators.

If your local school board, city council, or police department has quietly flocked your neighborhood, don't wait for a news crew to find out. Check our camera map to see what's already been deployed near you, and use our take-action resources to push for transparency, contract reviews, or outright removal before it becomes someone else's fight to win back.