How much do Wisconsin voters care about Flock cameras? | Inside Wisconsin Politics
The short version: PBS Wisconsin's political podcast digs into why conservative voters and candidates are souring on Flock ALPR cameras, and it's a sign the issue is going mainstream.
Our Take
Credit to Shawn Johnson, Rich Kremer, and Anya van Wagtendonk for putting a finger on something we've been tracking for a while: Flock Safety's camera network isn't a niche privacy-nerd concern anymore, it's showing up in actual campaign conversations. When reporters covering conservative Wisconsin voters and candidates start asking whether people care about license plate readers, that's a signal the surveillance-state skepticism that used to be a fringe talking point is finding real traction on the right, and probably beyond it.
That matters because ALPR expansion has largely happened below the radar of most voters, sold to city councils and county boards as a tidy crime-fighting tool with little scrutiny of who else gets access to the data, how long it's retained, or how it can be queried by ICE, out-of-state agencies, or anyone else with a login. The fact that this is now a question pollsters and reporters are asking candidates suggests the political ground is shifting, and that's good news for anyone trying to slow down warrantless mass tracking of ordinary drivers.
If you're in Wisconsin and want to know whether Flock is already watching your commute, check our camera map to see what's been documented near you, and if you want to push back, our take-action resources walk you through how to raise this with your local officials before the next budget vote quietly renews the contract.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of PBS Wisconsin, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.