Cleveland Cuts $250K Flock Camera Contract 3-1
The short version: Cleveland's council committee axed a $250K Flock contract 3-1 after police couldn't produce evidence the cameras actually reduce crime.
Our Take
Credit where it's due: Verified Privacy VPN (vp.net) flags a story every city council in America should be paying attention to. Cleveland police showed up calling automated license plate readers "essential," then froze when asked for the actual numbers on crime reduction. No data, no study, just a vibe and a vendor invoice. A 3-1 committee vote said that's not good enough.
This is the pattern we keep seeing nationwide: Flock Safety and similar vendors sell surveillance infrastructure on faith, not evidence. "Essential" becomes the word of choice precisely because it can't be fact-checked the way a crime statistic can. When councils actually demand numbers, the case for blanket ALPR coverage tends to fall apart fast — because these systems were never really pitched on proof, they were pitched on fear and convenience for police budgets.
Cleveland's pushback is a reminder that these contracts are not inevitable. They get renewed because nobody asks hard questions, not because the cameras work. Check our camera map to see what's already watching your plates, and if your city is up for a renewal fight, our take-action page has the tools to make your council ask the same questions Cleveland finally did.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Verified Privacy VPN (vp.net), published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.