FOIA your own plate. Flock data gets expensive.

Our Take

Credit where it's due: Verified Privacy VPN is pointing people toward a tool that actually works — the public records request. If your local sheriff's office runs Flock Safety ALPRs, that data on your own plate is, in most states, yours to ask for. It's one of the few concrete ways regular people can see the shadow file local law enforcement is building on their daily movements.

The "gets expensive" part of that title is worth sitting with. Agencies can slow-walk, narrow, or price out these requests, and it varies wildly by state and department. That's not an accident — it's friction designed to keep most people from ever checking. The lesson isn't to give up, it's to know exactly which agency to target. Check our camera map to see if Flock is operating near you before you even draft the request.

FOIA-ing your own plate won't dismantle a surveillance network, but it does something mass surveillance depends on you never doing: looking back. Pair that curiosity with real pressure — show up to a city council meeting, push for data retention limits, demand an opt-out audit trail. Our take-action page has the playbook if you want to turn one records request into actual policy change.