Trending
Until the recent story in the OBSERVER about Flock cameras appearing in New York State and Chautauqua County, I hadn't paid a lot of attention to the subject probably because I took it for granted that "Big Brother" in some form or other felt a need to watch some of us. Now I don't suffer from paranoia, but I do have some understanding of how the minds of some in positions of authority work.
Flock Safety was founded in 2017 by three graduates of the Georgia Institute of Technology, one of whom Garrett Langley is the current CEO. The company began as a response to a string of property crimes in an Atlanta neighborhood. In response to the fact that roughly 70% of crimes involving a vehicle go unresolved because of a lack of license plate information, Langley and his co-founders designed a solar-powered, AI-driven camera system to fill that gap. What started as a neighborhood security initiative quickly became a prominent national surveillance network valued at $8.4 billion as of 2026.
Flock began by focusing on capturing license plate information. Over time, Flock expanded its camera's AI capabilities by introducing its Vision and Enrichment Machine Learning Engines. Now, instead of just tracking standard automated license plate readers data, the cameras could now identify vehicle make, model, color, roof racks, bumper stickers, and missing plates. This led to rapid growth between 2020 and 2025 when Flock cameras were operating in 49 states and 5,000 communities
Historically, ALPR (Automated License Plate Recognition) cameras used by police were isolated databases. Now, for instance If a private homeowners association installs a Flock camera, the camera data, license plate data and vehicle data can be directly accessed and exchanged between different organizations within the same software platform, without requiring third-party software integrations. Furthermore, police in one state can opt into data sharing with other jurisdictions, creating a nationwide, searchable map of vehicle movements. As of August 2026, Flock operates approximately 120,000 cameras across the United States, processing an estimated 20 billion vehicle scans every single month.
However, by the middle of 2026 while law enforcement agencies frequently credit Flock with solving high-profile crimes, kidnappings, and auto thefts in real-time, the size of the network triggered an immense civil liberties pushback. Concerns over database abuses such as reported cases of unauthorized tracking or stalking prompted several states to pass restrictive data-retention laws. In response to public pressure, Flock adjusted its recommendation standard to retain data for only seven days, down from its original 30-day baseline.
In the past lower courts generally protected law enforcement agencies' use of license plate readers based on the legal principle that drivers have no reasonable expectation of privacy while traveling on public roads. However, the explosive growth of the use of Flock cameras led many observers to believe that a day of constitutional reckoning over ALFR cameras and devices is fast approaching.
Then in June of 2026 in Chatrie v. United States the Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 that individuals maintain a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding their cell phone location records held by third parties. The court affirmed that compelling this digital footprint is a search falling under the Fourth Amendment. In other words, the government cannot bypass the warrant requirement simply because location data is passively collected by a third party private enterprise. Legal scholars say that this decision undercuts law enforcement's defense of logging into Flock’s cloud network without a warrant.
Flock cameras and its database are not fool proof. The AI frequently misinterprets similar-looking characters such as mistaking a 7 for a 1 or a 9 for an 8. This could cause the system to flag an innocent driver’s vehicle as a stolen car. However, a large percentage of errors are not the camera’s fault. When a car is stolen, it goes on a police "hotlist." If the car is recovered but the police database is not updated, the Flock system will continue to trigger high-priority alerts, leading to innocent citizens being stopped at gunpoint.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, launched a formal Senate investigation into Flock Safety, criticizing the company for building an “unprecedented national surveillance network” that operates without congressional authorization. Hawley has sent a letter to Flock Safety CEO Langley demanding answers by September 8, 2026, regarding data collection, privacy safeguards, and instances of system misuse.
Senator Hawley's thinking on the subject is reflected in the position of the American Civil Liberties Union which is that "ALPR companies like Flock violate our privacy across the country by taking photos of every vehicle passing their cameras.... making it possible to track those vehicles and apply AI to uncover their occupants' private patterns of life." It went on to say that changing this system to one that protects civil rights and civil liberties is a difficult if not impossible task.
I find myself in agreement with both Senator Hawley and even the ACLU. There is no doubt that Flock is operating a major surveillance network that operates without congressional authorization or oversight. I believe that the technology of "security" is quickly outpacing legislation. I believe we have to rethink what constitutes an expectation of privacy and what kinds of data gathering should fall under the Fourth Amendment. I understand that ALPR systems have historically been useful tools in police investigations, but it seems that a system for issuing warrants to access the database that prevents abuses and protects the civil rights and liberties of citizens needs to be developed.
Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com.