OSU Won't Say How Many Flock Cameras It Has #Shorts #OhioState #FlockSafety
The short version: Ohio State has run Flock cameras since 2021 but refuses to disclose a current count, with the last known figure—over 60—dating to 2023.
Our Take
Pique Media's reporting lays bare a familiar pattern: a public university deploys a dense network of license-plate readers, shares that data with municipal police, and then goes quiet when asked for a basic number. Ohio State isn't a private actor here — it's a state institution, funded by taxpayers and students, and the public has every right to know how many cameras are logging their movements across campus. "Trust us" doesn't cut it when the last confirmed count is two years stale.
The wrinkle that makes this worse is the data-sharing arrangement with Columbus police. Once a university's ALPR network becomes a feeder system for municipal law enforcement, you've effectively expanded the city's surveillance footprint without a corresponding expansion of city oversight or public disclosure. Columbus City Council's planned hearing is a good sign, but hearings only matter if they produce real numbers, real audit logs, and real limits — not just reassurances.
This is exactly the kind of opacity we track at DeFlock. If you're on or near OSU's campus, check our camera map to see what's been documented, and if you want to push back on secrecy like this, our take-action page has concrete steps for making noise at the local level.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Pique Media, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.