What is Flock Safety?

Flock Safety is a private company that sells Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) camera systems to local governments and police departments. Their cameras have been present in our city since 2018. While marketed as a public safety tool that claims to "prevent crime before it even happens," their own website acknowledges that their system goes far beyond just reading license plates. It tracks vehicle decals, accessories (roof rack, crossbars, etc.), and even wear and tear (scuffs, dings, dents, etc.) on your vehicle, while building a detailed profile of you and everyone else driving through our streets. 

What data do they collect?

While Flock only claims to document data such as the "type, make, color, and other identifying characteristics of a vehicle, such as a roof rack," as well as say their cameras "do not collect personal information, facial recognition, or anything tied to individuals," their own patent claims "the object detection module may leverage other, more detailed neural networks to further identify aspects of the person such as, but not limited to, a neural network for identifying clothing types (jacket, pants, shorts, hat, etc.) and a neural network for gauging height and weight." Their Flock Nova platform (database holding all of the information) aggregates deeply personal data including phone numbers, home addresses, IP addresses, Social Security numbers, usernames, VINs, financial information, and more.  In conjunction with the ALPRs, all of this information builds a profile of you to track and document every single move you make, before you even make it. 

Why should this concern you?

Flock is a private company, meaning that it is not subject to open-record laws and is not held accountable to elected officials or the public. It profits by selling the data it collects on you, with no disclosure  to any government personnel. Documented evidence proves police agencies share ALPR data with other government agencies like ICE. There are no guardrails in places limiting how far this program can expand — and vulnerable groups in our community can and will be singled out without limits, without oversight, and without notice. 

The 2019 California State Auditor found that agencies were retaining surveillance images longer than necessary and sharing them with hundreds of entities across the country — without being able to show those entities had any right to the data. 

Flock has stated on their own website in the FAQ section of "who monitors the camera footage," with the follow up being, "nobody from Flock Safety is accessing or monitoring your footage." At 1:20PM on September 30th, 2025, Bob Carter, the Vice President of Flock Safety, who is also a registered lobbyist, logged on to the Flock databases and accessed a camera in the children's gymnastics room in the MJCC of Atlanta. Randy Gluck, another Flock employee, was logged viewing this same camera on 3 separate occasions on 3 separate days. Between employees at Flock and various other police officers across the nation, they have racked up numerous hours watching and stalking strangers and children through Flock's cameras. Mind you, this is only a tiny fraction of information that WE KNOW. Imagine what we don't know.. How does this make anyone safer?