License Plate Readers, Senate Power Grabs & Sheriff Mack on America's Surveillance State | 07-28-26

Our Take

Sam Bushman and Sheriff Richard Mack of CSPOA aren't typically who you'd expect to be sounding the alarm on Flock Safety cameras, but that's exactly what makes this conversation worth a listen. When sheriffs and constitutional-rights advocates start connecting license plate readers to broader fights over federal power, it signals that ALPR pushback has moved well past the usual privacy-advocate circles and into mainstream political discourse across the spectrum.

That's the real story here: surveillance infrastructure doesn't care about party lines. A camera logging your plate, time-stamping your location, and feeding it into a nationwide database doesn't ask if you're a libertarian, a conservative sheriff, or a civil liberties lawyer. Mack's history of pushing back against federal overreach gives him a specific lens on this — he's framing ALPR networks as another lever of centralized control that local communities never actually voted for, often installed through quiet city council votes or police department contracts with zero public debate.

We don't always agree with every guest's politics on these shows, but the throughline is one we keep hammering: this technology is spreading faster than oversight can keep up, and most residents have no idea how many cameras are watching their daily commute. Check our camera map to see what's near you, and if you're ready to push back at a city council meeting, our take-action guide walks you through it.