Cops Using Flock Cameras to Stalk Ex-Partners | The Dark Side of Surveillance
The short version: Hill Of Justice spotlights how Flock ALPR access can be abused by police to track ex-partners, underscoring why unchecked surveillance databases are a danger even to the people who run them.
Our Take
Hill Of Justice's latest episode digs into a problem we've flagged for a while: license plate reader networks aren't just a tool for "finding bad guys," they're a standing temptation for anyone with login credentials. The video walks through allegations of officers using Flock camera access to track down ex-partners, which is exactly the kind of misuse civil liberties groups have warned about since these systems went up on every other corner. Credit to the Hill Of Justice team for putting a human face on what usually gets buried in audit logs and department press releases.
This isn't a hypothetical. Police departments across the country have histories of staff misusing law enforcement databases for personal reasons, from DMV records to NCIC lookups. Flock's network is bigger, faster, and far more granular, capturing not just a plate number but a timestamped map of someone's daily movements. When that kind of power sits behind a login screen with little independent oversight, it's not a question of if it gets abused, it's a question of how often and how long it takes anyone to notice.
The companies selling these systems love to talk about solve rates and stolen cars. They talk a lot less about who's watching the watchers. If you want to see how many of these cameras are already logging plates in your own neighborhood, check our map, and if you're ready to push back on surveillance creep where you live, our take-action page has a place to start.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Hill Of Justice, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.