Upstate deputies weigh in about “Fact vs. Fiction” about Flock cameras

Our Take

Credit to WYFF News 4 for putting Flock cameras in front of a local audience, but this segment plays out the way most police-sourced "fact vs. fiction" pieces do: deputies get to set the terms of the debate, knock down the softest version of public concern, and walk away looking transparent without ever touching the hard questions. Who can query the system, how long footage sits in a database, whether neighboring agencies or federal partners get pulled-in access, and what happens when the system misfires on a plate — none of that is "fiction," and none of it gets resolved by a sheriff's office saying trust us.

That's the pattern across the country. Agencies lean on Flock's own talking points, residents hear reassurance instead of audit results, and the network of cameras keeps growing one quiet county at a time. South Carolina drivers now living inside this grid deserve more than a press-friendly segment; they deserve public retention policies, audit logs, and a say in whether these cameras get installed at all.

If you want to see how far this network already reaches in the Upstate and beyond, check our camera map, and if you'd rather not just watch this expand, our take-action page has concrete steps for pushing back at the local level.