In the growing town of Jonesboro, Arkansas, an invasive surveillance network is quietly expanding. The local government pays nearly $200,000 annually to maintain around 55 Flock cameras scattered across ordinary intersections and neighborhood entrances. Each of these cameras indiscriminately captures images of every passing vehicle, recording details such as license plate numbers, car make, model, color, and even bumper stickers. This isn't just a collection of data; it's a comprehensive log of our daily movements and behaviors. From entering or exiting your neighborhood, traveling to work, or dropping the kids off at school, you were tagged by a flock camera and logged into a database. Your daily routines tracked without your consent. Driving is not optional in Jonesboro. Treating public streets & neighborhood entrances as consent to mass tracking empties the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches.

While intended to assist law enforcement, these systems are deeply invasive and pose significant privacy threats. They risk turning our community into a monitoring field where ordinary citizens, who are not under suspicion of any crime, are constantly logged and potentially scrutinized. Even more distressing is that these surveillance systems have already been exploited as tools for stalking and endangering citizens' safety.

The financial burden of maintaining these cameras is unacceptable given their controversial utility. At $3,500 per camera annually, our city redirects essential funds that could better serve public amenities and services. Instead of fostering a sense of safety, the omnipresent lens of surveillance instills a sense of mistrust among citizens, creating barriers instead of building bridges within the community.

What we need to understand  is the cameras stay after the headline fades. The database does not shrink. We do not get the freedom back. Jonesboro residents get no warrant, no notice, and no way to opt out. Deflock Jonesboro means end the contract and delete the data. We do not a permanent map of who drives where at all times. How many other invasive security measures will they spring upon us without us knowing?

I urge the Jonesboro City Council and the Police Department to reevaluate their stance on these invasive Flock cameras.  Our mayor Harold Copenhaver & police chief Rick Elliot, instead of addressing the clear distaste & concerns about Flock from the local community that they serve, completely ignored the will of the people & regurgitated the flock sales pitch right back to us.

This is a call to action to dismantle an unnecessary surveillance network, and commit to ensuring a safer, yet privacy-respecting, Jonesboro for all its citizens. Several cities in Arkansas & the United States have already terminated their flock contacts. The people are tired of government overreach. We the people are not your “flock” to monitor. Sign this petition to echo the need for change and to advocate for a solution that respects privacy without compromising security.

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety". - Benjamin Franklin