As Charlotte residents, we are deeply concerned about the rapid installation of Flock surveillance cameras in our city, done without public input or transparency. 

Flock Safety is a private surveillance company that has built one of the largest automated camera networks in the United States. Their devices, especially automated license plate readers (ALPRs), are spreading everywhere: neighborhoods, shopping centers, highways, and police departments. These cameras do more than snap a picture. They track, identify, and log every vehicle that passes, storing plate numbers, make, model, color, time, and exact location. Over time, they quietly build a detailed travel history of millions of people who are not suspected of any crime.

This is mass surveillance without mass consent. Every driver is scanned, recorded, and stored without ever being asked. The system creates what critics call a “pattern-of-life” profile, mapping out where people live, work, shop, and travel, and who they visit. Commuting to work, picking up kids, attending a protest, visiting a medical clinic—every movement becomes a data point. 

What makes this even more alarming is how interconnected and searchable the system is. Data collected in one neighborhood can be accessed by police anywhere else (or by anyone savvy enough to log into the cameras remotely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB0gr7Fh6lY

Agencies can pull up travel histories across cities and states without needing a warrant. The network quietly becomes a national vehicle-tracking grid, operated by a private corporation with enormous amounts of location data in its hands. The company’s rapid expansion outpaces public oversight, and decisions about how long data is stored or who can access it are often opaque or inconsistent.

To add, there have now been multiple cases of Flock sharing data with federal authorities in violation of state law. Links below. 

There is little evidence that such surveillance effectively reduces crime. Instead, we believe our town's resources would be better spent on community focused initiatives like:

Youth programs 
Mental health services 
Neighborhood infrastructure

We call on the Charlotte City Council to:

-Suspend use of Flock cameras immediately and disclose all data-sharing agreements. 
-Hold a public forum before any future surveillance tech is deployed. 
-Enact stronger privacy protections to safeguard residents from unwarranted government surveillance.
 

The longer they remain in use, the harder it will be to reverse their presence and the more data they will collect about our personal lives. As citizens, it is our responsibility to hold our city accountable and ensure that decisions affecting our freedoms are made with our consent.

Charlotte's strength comes from her people - not from constant surveillance. Let's invest in a safer, more vibrant community built on trust and transparency.

Please sign to make your voice heard.

Communities Push Back Against Flock:

Eugene and Springfield both announce end of Flock camera usage
https://www.opb.org/article/2025/12/06/eugene-springfield-end-flock-cameras

In Evanston, Illinois officials ordered 19 Flock cameras removed after a state audit found license-plate data was shared with federal authorities in violation of state law.
https://www.slashgear.com/1990582/illinois-city-orders-law-breaking-flock-license-plate-cameras-removed

Hillsborough, NC cancels license plate reader cameras due to data privacy concerns
https://dailytarheel.com/article/city-hillsborough-flock-safety-cameras-20251111

Attorney General Bonta Sues El Cajon for Illegally Sharing License Plate Data with Out-of-State Law Enforcement
https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-sues-el-cajon-illegally-sharing-license-plate-data-out

Several cities in Washington paused or shut down their Flock systems after federal access concerns
https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/washington-license-plate-camera-rules

In Austin, Texas community organizing and activism forced the cancellation of the city’s Flock contract
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/06/victory-austin-organizers-cancel-citys-flock-alpr-contract

 Flock's Abuses And Dangers To Privacy:

In Oakland, California a lawsuit filed in 2025 alleged that police illegally shared license-plate surveillance data with federal agencies
https://sfstandard.com/2025/11/18/oakland-police-opd-lawsuit-flock-surveillance/

In Illinois a state audit found data sharing violations involving Flock cameras and federal authorities, triggering removals and policy changes
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/article/illinois-flock-cbp-access-21015002.php

A federal lawsuit challenged the use of 170+ Flock cameras in Norfolk, Virginia. Plaintiffs argued that the system created mass location tracking
violated the Fourth Amendment protection against warrantless searches
https://www.forbes.com/sites/larsdaniel/2024/10/22/warrantless-surveillance-federal-lawsuit-challenges-flock-safety-cameras

San Francisco Police Department may have broken state law by turning over data from Oakland’s cameras to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
https://oaklandside.org/2025/07/15/oakland-police-ice-surveillance-camera-flock-safety-sfpd/

Flock has been selling law enforcement clients on the promise of dramatic reductions in crime. But it's not clear that the company lives up to its own hype
https://www.forbes.com/sites/cyrusfarivar/2024/02/29/flock-ai-cameras-may-not-reduce-crime/

Sonoma City Council approves spending $57,000 for 16 FLOCK Safety automatic license plate readers that will create a “fence” around the city, allowing police to monitor who comes in and out
https://www.sonomanews.com/article/news/city-of-sonoma-approves-license-plate-reader-for-police/ 

Flock Safety has already built a sizable AI-powered camera network, with tens of thousands of smart license plate readers monitoring roads in 49 American states. Soon its cameras are going to capture a lot morehttps://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2025/06/04/flocks-ai-cameras-are-watching-cars-all-over-america-theyre-about-to-get-a-lot-more-powerful

This Flock Camera Leak is like Netflix For Stalkers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU1-uiUlHTo