City of #StevensPoint to #suspend use of #Flock cameras for now
The short version: Stevens Point hit pause on its Flock ALPR program, a reminder that public pushback can actually slow surveillance expansion before it becomes permanent infrastructure.
Our Take
Credit to WSAW NewsChannel 7 for flagging this one: Stevens Point is suspending its use of Flock Safety cameras "for now." That phrasing matters. A pause isn't a repeal, and it isn't a policy. It's a pressure valve local officials open when a surveillance rollout starts generating more scrutiny than they bargained for. The cameras aren't necessarily gone — they're just quiet until the controversy cools off.
This is the pattern we've seen in city after city: a police department or council quietly signs a Flock contract, residents find out the hard way that a private company is logging every car that passes certain intersections, and only after public records requests, local reporting, or council pushback does anyone hit the brakes. Suspensions like this are a win for transparency, but they're also fragile. Without hard limits on data retention, sharing with other agencies, and warrantless access, a paused program can restart just as easily as it started.
If you're in Stevens Point or anywhere else wondering whether ALPRs are already watching your street, check our camera map to see what's been documented nearby, and visit our take-action page for ways to push your local government toward real accountability instead of a temporary timeout.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of WSAW NewsChannel 7, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.