Flock camera misused by four officers
The short version: A San Antonio report says four officers misused a Flock ALPR, and separately hackers pulled a camera and leaked its data — proof this tech is only as trustworthy as the humans and vendors running it.
Our Take
Credit to News 4 (WOAI) San Antonio for digging into a story Flock Safety would rather stay quiet: officers reportedly misusing a license plate reader meant for public safety, not personal curiosity. This is the pattern critics keep warning about — once a mass surveillance network exists, the temptation to peek at an ex, a neighbor, or a rival becomes a policy failure waiting to happen, not a hypothetical.
The second half of the story, hackers physically removing a camera and exposing its data, is almost darkly useful. It shows these devices are neither secure nor accountable by design; they're boxes bolted to poles collecting plate data with minimal oversight, and apparently vulnerable enough that outsiders can pull one and expose what's inside. If random hackers can access this data, so can anyone with internal credentials and bad intentions.
Every case like this is a reminder that 'trust us' is not a policy. Check our camera map to see what's watching in your area, and visit take action if you want to push your local officials for real accountability instead of vendor talking points.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of News 4 (WOAI) San Antonio, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.