Flock cameras off in Franklin County after alleged misuse

Our Take

Credit to WRAL for getting this story out quickly, because it's exactly the scenario we keep flagging: a law enforcement official allegedly using license plate reader data not for a warrant, not for a BOLO, but to track a specific person for personal reasons. Flock Safety and local police departments love to sell these systems as neutral tools for solving crimes, but "neutral" tools still run through human hands, and human hands have agendas, grudges, and relationships they shouldn't be chasing with a government-funded surveillance camera.

Franklin County deserves some credit for actually pulling the plug rather than quietly reassigning the detective and calling it a day. But the bigger issue isn't one bad actor — it's that this kind of misuse is nearly invisible until someone gets caught or a victim notices. Most ALPR systems log searches, sure, but audits are rare, oversight is thin, and the public almost never finds out unless there's a leak or a lawsuit. If a detective can allegedly use this network to stalk someone, what's stopping hundreds of other officers nationwide from doing the same thing undetected right now?

This is why we keep pushing people to check our camera map and see what's watching their own neighborhood, and why we built out take-action resources for residents who want to push their local council or sheriff for real audit logs and public reporting requirements. Shutting down one network after the fact is a start. Preventing the next one requires actual transparency before the damage is done.