Police Abusing Flock Cameras to Stalk

Our Take

Credit to Lisa Cabrera for putting a human face on a problem we keep flagging: Flock Safety's network isn't just a crime-fighting tool sitting quietly in the background, it's a surveillance system that runs on trust, and that trust keeps getting broken. Every time an officer with a badge and a login runs plates for a personal vendetta, a jealous ex, or just plain curiosity, it's a reminder that "public safety" infrastructure can just as easily become a stalking tool when oversight is thin to nonexistent.

This isn't a hypothetical. Agencies across the country have quietly disciplined or fired officers for misusing ALPR access, usually only after someone got hurt or a pattern was noticed. The audit logs exist, but logs after the fact don't undo the damage of someone being tracked to their home, their doctor, or their new address. The real fix isn't a strongly worded policy memo, it's not installing these networks in the first place, or ripping them out where they already blanket a town.

If you want to see how close this kind of surveillance sits to your own neighborhood, check our camera map and find out what's watching you. And if you're ready to push back against unchecked plate-reader deployment in your city, our take-action page has concrete steps for making noise at your next city council meeting.