Pageland’s Flock Safety cameras vandalized; police ask public for assistance | WSOC-TV
The short version: WSOC-TV reports Pageland, SC vandalized three uninsured Flock cameras, and we see it as a blunt symptom of communities souring on unaccountable surveillance.
Our Take
WSOC-TV's report on Pageland, South Carolina covers a small town's brand-new Flock Safety cameras getting cut down and damaged before they even had a chance to run. Credit to the WSOCTV9 team for getting police on record asking the public for tips — that's the kind of local accountability reporting this issue needs more of.
The detail that stands out to us isn't the vandalism itself, it's that the cameras were uninsured. Small towns are being sold on 'free' pilot programs and subscription deals without fully grappling with what happens when hardware gets damaged, hacked, or challenged in court. Taxpayers end up holding the bag either way — whether it's replacement costs or the slow erosion of the assumption that driving around your own town shouldn't generate a permanent, searchable record of your movements.
We don't endorse property destruction, but incidents like this are a loud, messy signal that plenty of residents never got a real say before these poles went up. If you want to know whether Flock or similar ALPR cameras are already watching your streets, check our camera map, and if you'd rather push back through your city council than a pair of wire cutters, our take-action page has a better playbook.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of WSOCTV9, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.