Catawba hits the brakes on controversial Flock cameras after testing them in town
The short version: Catawba, NC let its 60-day Flock Safety trial expire without renewal, becoming another small town that tested ALPR surveillance and said no thanks.
Our Take
Credit to WCNC for catching this one, because small-town stories like Catawba's rarely get national attention, yet they matter just as much as the big-city fights. A town leadership team ran the numbers, lived with the cameras for two months, and decided the tradeoff wasn't worth it. That's exactly the kind of sober, evidence-based pushback we wish more city councils would attempt before signing a multi-year contract.
What's notable here isn't a scandal or a data breach — it's that a trial period actually functioned as a trial. Flock's sales pitch leans hard on 60-day pilots precisely because departments rarely walk away once cameras go up; sunk cost and habit usually win. Catawba bucking that pattern is a useful data point for every other town being told ALPRs are a must-have.
Every one of these reversals chips away at the industry narrative that Flock is simply inevitable. If your town is being pitched a 'free trial' right now, that's the moment to show up to council meetings, not after the cameras are bolted to poles. Check our map to see what's already deployed near you, and use our take-action guide to push for the same kind of honest evaluation Catawba just gave itself.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of WCNC, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.