Missouri Primary Candidates on Flock Cameras

Our Take

Credit to Suzi Vause for doing something most local outlets still won't: actually asking candidates where they stand on Flock Safety's license plate readers. In Missouri's 8th District, Democratic primary hopefuls Frank Barnitz and Chris Reichard were put on the spot, and that kind of direct accountability is exactly how this issue starts moving from obscure city council agendas into the political mainstream. Most voters have no idea their plates are being logged dozens of times a week by cameras their town quietly approved.

We don't know yet whether either candidate's answer signals real skepticism of mass ALPR surveillance or just a polished non-answer, and we're not going to put words in their mouths. But the fact that a journalist bothered to ask, on camera, in a primary race, matters. Rural and small-town districts are often where Flock expands fastest with the least scrutiny, since there's less local press and fewer people tracking council votes. When candidates have to answer for it publicly, that changes the incentive structure.

If you live in Missouri's 8th or anywhere else, check our camera map to see what's already been deployed near you, and use our take-action guide to push your own local candidates and officials for the same kind of answers Vause got on camera here.