NC town reveals why it's canceling Flock Cameras contract

Our Take

When a town government starts backing away from a Flock Safety contract, it's worth paying attention. WSOCTV9's Charlotte newsroom dug into why one North Carolina community decided the cameras weren't worth keeping, and whatever the specific cost, performance, or privacy concerns cited, the fact that local officials are willing to publicly cancel is itself notable. Most jurisdictions quietly renew these contracts year after year without ever revisiting whether the tradeoffs make sense.

This is exactly the kind of accountability moment that rarely gets attention. Flock's pitch to towns is always about solving crime, but the actual terms, costs, and data-sharing arrangements rarely get scrutinized until something forces the issue — a budget crunch, a public records request, or a town council member finally asking the right question. Credit to WSOCTV9 for covering a local government actually reconsidering its surveillance footprint instead of rubber-stamping another renewal.

If you want to know whether ALPRs are already watching the roads in your town, check our camera map, and if you'd rather your local officials ask the same hard questions this NC town did, our take-action page has tools to get that conversation started.