Flock camera outside an elementary school in #chesterfieldva
The short version: A Chesterfield, VA resident, Ericka Kopp, spotlights a Flock ALPR camera stationed outside an elementary school and asks why Rep. Rob Wittman isn't addressing warrantless mass surveillance of residents.
Our Take
Credit to Ericka Kopp for pointing the camera at something a lot of these companies would rather you not think too hard about: the placement of these systems near schools, where kids, parents, and teachers get logged into a database every single drop-off and pickup. There's no warrant behind that camera, no probable cause, just a blanket record of who drives where, stitched together over time into a pattern of life for an entire neighborhood.
The question Kopp raises about her congressman, Rob Wittman, is the right one. Local police departments sign these Flock contracts, but the normalization of always-on tracking near schools, churches, and residential streets is a policy failure that goes well beyond any one department. Elected officials at every level have mostly stayed silent while this infrastructure spreads county by county, and silence is itself a decision.
If there's a Flock camera near your kid's school or your own block, you deserve to know about it. Check our camera map to see what's already been documented in your area, and if you want to push back on unchecked ALPR expansion, our take-action page has concrete steps for pressuring local officials.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Ericka Kopp, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.