Florida Cops Planted Fake Flock Cameras to Bust “Vigilantes”!
The short version: A Florida PD 3D-printed decoy Flock cameras to catch vandals, which Jimmy Dore says proves cops care more about protecting surveillance gear than public trust.
Our Take
A police department ginning up fake surveillance cameras to catch people messing with real surveillance cameras is the kind of story that writes its own punchline. Jimmy Dore's segment zeroes in on something we've been hammering on for a while: these ALPR networks have become so unpopular with the public that departments are now spending time and 3D-printer filament defending the hardware itself, rather than answering basic questions about who can access the data, how long it's retained, or what the contract with Flock actually says.
That last part matters more than the decoy-camera gimmick. Over and over we see local officials who signed multi-year deals with Flock Safety but can't clearly explain the terms to their own city councils or to reporters filing public records requests. Add in the creep toward drone-mounted plate readers scanning from the sky, and you've got a surveillance apparatus expanding faster than the oversight meant to keep it in check. The fact that some residents are frustrated enough to want these cameras gone — and that police are now booby-trapping intersections to catch them — tells you the consent of the governed was never really secured in the first place.
Credit to Jimmy Dore for putting a spotlight on this one. If you want to know whether your own neighborhood has one of these cameras watching your plate, check our map, and if you're ready to push back, our take-action page has the tools to start asking your local officials the hard questions.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of The Jimmy Dore Show, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.