Flock cameras are providing evidence of drivers illegally dumping.

Our Take

Credit to WVUE FOX 8 New Orleans for the local angle, but let's call this what it is: another chapter in the slow, steady expansion of what Flock Safety's network gets used for. These cameras were sold to city councils as a tool for catching stolen cars and violent crime suspects. Now they're catching people dumping couches on the curb. Nobody's going to cry for the illegal dumpers, but that's exactly how function creep works — you justify the system with the sympathetic case, then quietly broaden what it's used for once the infrastructure is already in place and the public has stopped asking questions.

The deeper issue is that most of these ALPR networks operate with little transparency about retention, data sharing, or who gets access beyond the original stated purpose. When a city says 'we're using it for trash enforcement now too,' that's a policy decision that almost never goes through the same public debate as the original purchase. The cameras don't care what they're pointed at — they log every plate, every time, regardless of whether you're a litterbug or just driving to church.

If you want to know whether New Orleans — or your own city — has this hardware watching your street, check our camera map. And if you think local government shouldn't be able to repurpose surveillance infrastructure without public input, our take-action page has steps for pushing back.