Growing Number Police using Flocks surveillance camera company to harass ex-wives and girlfriends

Our Take

Credit to MaryTTV for surfacing a pattern we keep seeing wherever these camera networks go up: the officers who control the data don't always use it for the reasons the sales pitch promised. A license plate reader system that can flag a 'stolen tag' in seconds can just as easily be pointed at an ex-partner's plate out of jealousy or spite. Once the access exists, the temptation exists — and Flock's own audit logs have repeatedly shown officers running searches with no case number, no warrant, and no legitimate reason attached.

This isn't a hypothetical slippery slope, it's the documented behavior of a system built with almost no meaningful guardrails. Departments promise 'audits' after the fact, but after-the-fact review doesn't undo the harm of someone learning their stalker knows exactly where they've been. False stolen-tag accusations pulled from the same pipeline just add another layer of harassment dressed up as law enforcement.

Every one of these cameras sits on public roads recording every driver, guilty of nothing, just so a handful of people can misuse the data later. Check our map to see what's tracking your commute, and hit take action if you want to push back on it in your town.