Blaine County removes ALPR camera in Carey
The short version: A Blaine County sheriff pulled an ALPR camera in Carey after admitting it went up without local input — proof that pushback works.
Our Take
Credit to KTVB for catching this one: a Flock camera in the tiny town of Carey came down after Sheriff Steve Ballis copped to something departments rarely admit out loud — the thing got bolted up without the community actually weighing in. That's not a technical glitch. That's the whole business model. Flock and its law enforcement partners have made a habit of moving fast, signing deals quietly, and letting residents discover the surveillance after the fact, usually when someone notices a pole that wasn't there last month.
What makes Carey notable isn't the size of the town, it's the admission. Most agencies dig in when questioned and talk about "public safety" until the conversation dies. Here, the sheriff basically conceded the process was backwards, and the camera got pulled. That's a rare reversal, and it only happened because people asked questions and a local news crew showed up to ask more. Mass ALPR networks survive on the assumption that nobody's watching the watchers. Carey is a reminder that assumption can break.
If you want to know whether your own neighborhood has one of these systems installed with the same lack of notice, check our camera map, and if you find one, our take-action page has steps for getting answers before the cameras become permanent fixtures nobody remembers approving.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of KTVB, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.