FLOCK Cameras

Our Take

NBC Newswatch 12's report on Flock cameras is a good example of how these systems are becoming local news fixtures — usually framed around crime-solving wins, with little time spent on how the data is stored, shared, or audited. That's not necessarily the station's fault; a three-minute segment can't cover retention policies or interstate data sharing agreements. But it does mean viewers walk away with a partial picture.

What almost never makes the cut in these local spots is the bigger question: who else can query these plate reads, for how long, and under what oversight. Flock's own marketing leans hard on the solved-case anecdote, and local newsrooms often run with that framing because it's a clean, feel-good story. The harder story — camera counts creeping up block by block, license plate trails accumulating on ordinary commuters with zero connection to any crime — takes more digging.

If a segment like this makes you wonder how many of these cameras are already watching your own commute, check our camera map to see what's been documented near you, and visit our take-action page if you want to push back at a city council meeting or file a records request.