Does the Flock Safety surveillance system lower crime?
The short version: A Palo Alto council exchange, captured by YouTuber Matt Schlegel, shows the police chief admitting he has no actual data proving Flock cameras reduce crime.
Our Take
Credit to Matt Schlegel for pulling a clip that every city council in America should watch before signing a Flock Safety contract. Vice Mayor Greer Stone asks Palo Alto's police chief a simple, fair question: where's the evidence this system actually lowers crime? What follows isn't data. It's anecdotes, hedging, and the kind of vague reassurance that surveillance vendors have trained departments to lean on when the numbers don't exist.
This is the pattern we see city after city: a sales pitch dressed up as public safety policy, approved on faith rather than evidence. Flock's own marketing leans hard on fear and success stories, but when elected officials actually ask for proof, the cupboard is bare. That gap matters, because once these networks of always-on cameras get built, they rarely get rolled back, and the data they generate rarely stays as narrowly used as promised.
If your town is being sold this same story, don't take the chief's word for it, demand the numbers, and check whether Flock is already watching your streets on our camera map. If it is, our take-action page has tools to push back before the next contract renewal.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Matt Schlegel, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.