Americans are vandalizing Flock surveillance cameras across the country
The short version: NPR confirms what we've tracked for months: Flock camera sabotage has spread to 36 states while at least 100 cities have pulled the plug on contracts entirely.
Our Take
Credit to NPR for putting a national spotlight on something we've been documenting camera by camera: people are done asking nicely. When a network quietly amassing billions of plate scans a month shows up on your street with zero public input, some folks decide the ballot box is too slow and the toolbox is faster. We don't cheer property destruction, but we're not surprised by it either — it's what happens when local governments sign these contracts in the dark and residents find out after the fact.
The more interesting number in NPR's reporting isn't the vandalism count, it's the 100+ cities that have deactivated cameras or killed contracts outright. That's the boring, legal version of the same message: communities pushing back once they understand what Flock's ALPR network actually collects, who can query it, and how easily that data travels between agencies with no warrant in sight. Vandalism grabs headlines; public comment periods and city council votes are what actually change policy.
If you want to know whether your neighborhood is already wired up, check our map. And if you'd rather fight this in a city council meeting than with a crowbar, our take-action page has the tools to do it.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of NPR, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.