Alabama Power, Birmingham & Flock Cameras: What’s the Deal?
The short version: Bring the Receipts digs into the murky ties between Alabama Power, the City of Birmingham, and Flock's ALPR network, raising questions about who's really funding surveillance.
Our Take
When a utility company shows up in the same sentence as a city's license plate reader program, people should ask questions — and that's exactly what Bring the Receipts does in this video. Alabama Power isn't a name you'd expect to see tangled up with Flock Safety and the City of Birmingham, and that's precisely why it's worth examining. Surveillance infrastructure doesn't get less concerning just because the money or access comes through an unexpected channel; if anything, it should raise more red flags about oversight and public accountability.
These partnerships matter because they often happen in the dark. Cities sign contracts, private entities provide funding or infrastructure, and residents are left piecing together public records to figure out who has access to their movements and why. Whether it's a utility company, a business improvement district, or a private HOA footing the bill for cameras, the pattern is the same: surveillance expands quietly while transparency lags behind. Credit to Bring the Receipts for doing the legwork most local news won't touch.
If you're in Birmingham or anywhere else wondering how many of these cameras are already watching your street, check our camera map to see what's been documented near you. And if you want to push back on unchecked ALPR deals in your own city, our take-action page has the tools to get started.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Bring the Receipts, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.