Who watches the watchers? Leaders question Flock camera privacy
The short version: Campbell County, VA supervisors finally asked who's watching the Flock cameras — a question every county board should be asking before signing a contract.
Our Take
Credit to WSET ABC 13 for covering this: a county board of supervisors sitting down with the sheriff's office to actually interrogate the Flock Safety contract instead of just rubber-stamping it. That's the bare minimum of oversight, and it's still rare enough to make local news. Most counties install this gear after a quiet vote with zero public hearing, let alone a televised accountability session.
The headline question — who watches the watchers — is the whole ballgame. Flock cameras log every plate that passes, build travel patterns on ordinary residents who've done nothing wrong, and funnel that data into a network any participating agency can search, often with little audit trail on why. 'Concerns about privacy' isn't vague hand-wringing; it's the predictable result of letting a private company's cameras photograph the public without the kind of warrant requirements, retention limits, or misuse penalties that should come standard with this much surveillance power.
If your town hasn't had this conversation yet, don't wait for a reporter to force it. Check our map to see what's already watching your streets, and use our take-action guide to push your own board of supervisors toward the same scrutiny Campbell County just got on camera.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of WSET ABC 13, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.