Baton Rouge filed a Flock Safety contract as record 5215. Ask for the record.
The short version: A YouTube channel flagged that Baton Rouge logged its Flock Safety contract as public record 5215, spotlighting how easy—and essential—it is for residents to request and scrutinize these surveillance deals.
Our Take
Credit to Flock Clocker for doing the unglamorous work that keeps automated surveillance in check: tracking down the paper trail. A contract number sounds like bureaucratic trivia until you realize it's the receipt for a city-wide network of license plate cameras that log everywhere you drive. Baton Rouge didn't volunteer transparency here — someone had to go find record 5215 and point a camera (pun intended) at it.
This is the part of the Flock Safety story that doesn't get enough attention. Everyone focuses on the cameras themselves, but the contracts are where the real power dynamics get written down: data retention periods, which agencies get access, whether there's any audit trail for misuse. If residents don't ask for these records, they default to whatever terms the vendor and city quietly agreed to, with zero public input.
So take the hint. If your city has Flock cameras — or you suspect it might — file a public records request for the contract itself, not just a press release. Check our camera map to see what's already been documented near you, and head to our take-action page for templates and steps to start digging in your own town.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Flock Clocker, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.