Panama City votes to remove 41 Flock surveillance cameras

Our Take

Forty-one cameras isn't a pilot program, it's a dragnet — and Panama City's decision to rip it out, as reported by WMBB News 13, is a reminder that these contracts aren't permanent once elected officials and residents start asking hard questions about cost, oversight, and whether constant tracking of every car in town actually makes anyone safer.

We don't have every detail of what drove this reversal, but the pattern is familiar: a city council approves Flock cameras with little public debate, the footprint quietly grows, and then the bill, the data-sharing fine print, or a privacy backlash forces a second look. When that second look happens, cities are increasingly choosing to walk it back. That's a win worth noting, even if the fight to keep it from creeping back in isn't over.

If you want to know whether a Flock camera is watching your street right now, check our camera map, and if you'd rather your town follow Panama City's lead than expand its network, see how to push back at your next council meeting.