Mike Karbassi and Jay Beeber on Why Public Input Matters for Flock Cameras

Our Take

Credit to GV Wire for putting Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi and National Motorists Association policy director Jay Beeber on the same segment to talk about something most cities skip entirely: letting the public actually weigh in before ALPR networks go up. That's the whole ballgame with Flock Safety's expansion — these systems get approved in consent-agenda votes or quiet staff decisions, and by the time residents realize their daily movements are being logged, the cameras are already bolted to the poles.

What's notable here is the pairing. A city councilmember and a motorists'-rights advocate don't usually share a talking point, but they're both landing on the same concern — that surveillance infrastructure shouldn't be waved through without hearing from the people it's actually watching. That's not an anti-police position, it's a basic governance one. Flock's pitch to councils is always about solving crime; it's rarely about data retention, vendor access, or how many agencies end up pulling plate logs from a single city's network.

If you want to see whether this kind of debate ever reached your own city council — or whether the cameras just appeared — check our map to find what's already deployed near you, and use our take-action guide if you want to push for the public hearing your city skipped.