See a camera the map doesn't have? Put it on there.
The short version: Flock U's walkthrough shows how anyone can crowdsource ALPR locations, and that kind of public documentation is exactly what keeps surveillance accountable.
Our Take
Flock U put out a straightforward how-to: spot a license plate reader that isn't logged yet, drop a pin, note which way it's pointed and who seems to be running it, then submit. No special gear, no insider access — just a pair of eyes and five minutes. Credit to them for making the process this frictionless, because the biggest obstacle to tracking camera sprawl has never been technical. It's that most of these cameras get bolted onto poles with zero public notice, and the agencies deploying them count on nobody bothering to keep count.
That's the whole game with ALPR networks like Flock's: they scale quietly. A city council approves a handful of cameras for one stated purpose, and a year later there are dozens logging every plate that passes, feeding a database most residents never agreed to and often don't know exists. Crowdsourced reporting is one of the only real checks on that kind of quiet expansion. Every pin dropped by someone walking their dog or driving to work adds a little more friction to a system that depends on staying invisible.
We keep our own camera map for exactly this reason, and we're always short on eyes in places we haven't covered. If you've got a dead zone on the map near you, go fix it — and if you want to push back further, our take-action page has the next steps.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Flock U, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.