Flock cameras are taking over Black communities

Our Take

Fiery Masala's video digs into a pattern we've flagged before: Flock Safety cameras don't get distributed evenly across a city, they cluster. And when the cluster lines up with historically over-policed Black neighborhoods, it's not a coincidence — it's a continuation of the same surveillance logic that's targeted these communities for decades, just with a sleeker, AI-powered coat of paint.

This matters because ALPR data doesn't stay put. Once a network of cameras logs your plate, your location history is searchable, shareable, and — as we've documented repeatedly — often shared with agencies far outside the city that installed the cameras, including ICE and out-of-state police. A community that's already over-surveilled by traditional policing gets a second layer of tracking, one that's harder to see and even harder to opt out of.

We appreciate Fiery Masala putting a spotlight on this. If you want to see whether your own neighborhood is boxed in by Flock hardware, check our map, and if you're ready to push back at a city council meeting or public records request, our take-action page has the tools to get started.