Shorewood PD
The short version: Flock's own promotional video touts a Shorewood, Illinois shooting case as proof of ALPR value, but offers no transparency into how widely these cameras track everyone else.
Our Take
This clip comes straight from Flock Safety's own marketing channel, not an independent news outlet, so treat it accordingly. A scary story — a senator's son narrowly missing a bullet — makes for compelling PR, and nobody disputes that violent crime should be solved. But a company producing feel-good testimonials about its own product is not the same as independent proof that blanket license plate surveillance is necessary, effective, or proportionate.
Notice what's missing: how many plates were scanned to find this one, how long that data sat in a database, who else had access to it, and whether a narrower investigative method could have worked just as well. Flock doesn't release that math because the math doesn't sell cameras. One solved case gets the spotlight; the thousands of innocent drivers swept into the same dragnet every day get nothing — no notice, no opt-out, no accounting.
We're not saying this case wasn't real or that the relief wasn't genuine. We're saying a single anecdote shouldn't be the public's only basis for approving a surveillance network blanketing their town. Check our camera map to see what's already watching your neighborhood, and visit take action if you want a say before your city council signs the next contract.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Flock, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.