Flock Safety ALPRs: Public Defender Exposes Surveillance Concerns #shorts

Our Take

Eliza Orlins isn't a privacy activist by trade — she's spent 15 years as a public defender, which means she's seen firsthand how surveillance tech gets weaponized in court. When someone with that background takes a few minutes to explain Flock Safety's camera network in plain terms, it's worth paying attention. Her point is simple and chilling: every car that passes a Flock reader gets photographed, its plate logged, and the record sits in a searchable database for 30 days, available to any agency with access — no warrant required to look you up.

That last part is what should bother people most. This isn't a tool aimed at a specific suspect or a specific crime; it's a dragnet that captures everyone, law-abiding drivers included, and keeps their movements on file for a month. For public defenders like Orlins, that data can surface in ways defendants never consented to and often don't even know exist until it's too late. Multiply that by the thousands of Flock cameras now operating across the country, often installed with zero public debate, and you get a surveillance infrastructure most Americans didn't vote for and can't opt out of.

Credit to Orlins for using her platform and courtroom experience to make this accessible to a general audience in under a minute. If you want to see how dense this network already is near you, check our camera map, and if you're ready to push back on local Flock contracts, our take-action page has concrete steps.