Vandals target AI powered surveillance cameras
The short version: WUSA9 reports vandals are targeting Flock ALPR cameras, a sign that public frustration with unaccountable license-plate surveillance is boiling over into action.
Our Take
Credit to WUSA9 for putting a local lens on something we've been tracking nationally: people are fed up enough with Flock Safety's automated license plate readers that some are resorting to vandalism. We don't endorse property destruction, but we understand the frustration driving it. These cameras get installed on public roads with little to no community input, often through quiet city council votes or police department deals that residents only learn about after the poles go up.
What the video doesn't dig into — and what we think matters most — is the accountability vacuum around this technology. Flock's cameras log every vehicle that passes, building a searchable database of movement patterns for anyone with access, including other agencies far outside the jurisdiction that installed the camera. Vandalism is a blunt, risky response to a system that offers residents almost no formal say. It shouldn't be the only outlet people have.
If you're wondering whether there's a Flock camera near you, check our map before you decide how to respond. And if you'd rather push back through your city council or public records requests than through a can of spray paint, our take-action page walks through legal ways to challenge these deployments in your own town.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of WUSA9, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.