Backlash Prompts Wave of Flock Safety Camera Cancellations Across U.S. Communities

In July, more than 20 local jurisdictions announced they were ending or reviewing contracts with Flock Safety, the nation’s leading producer of automatic license-plate readers (ALPRs). Residents at city-council meetings in several states argued that the cameras could enable tracking of people traveling to places of worship, medical facilities, protests or other sensitive locations, and could be leveraged in immigration enforcement. Activist group DeFlock, which tracks the company’s deployments, recorded the highest single-month surge of cancellations since it began monitoring in 2021.

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Founded in 2017, Flock now operates over 80,000 cameras nationwide and claims partnerships with more than 7,000 law-enforcement agencies and over 6,000 private-sector customers. The company markets the technology as a tool for solving violent crimes and enforcing traffic laws, arguing that the network remains a small fraction of municipalities that have opted out.

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County commissioners in Macon County, North Carolina, voted unanimously to terminate their Flock contract, citing privacy invasion. Democratic first selectman Eric Couture of Killingworth, Connecticut, described the cameras as “a net negative” that “didn’t help us with anything.” Virginia Senate hopeful Mike Williamson warned that ALPR data could be shared with agencies enforcing out-of-state abortion restrictions, heightening concerns about broader surveillance.

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Flock spokesperson Courtney Terlecki contended that removing the technology “moves public safety backward.” The firm noted that, for every city ending a contract in 2026, roughly seven new cities have joined the network. Flock acknowledged a brief summer-time pilot with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations focused on human-trafficking and fentanyl distribution, but said those programs were paused amid the backlash and that no active contracts with ICE or DHS exist as of last August.

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• “It was a bipartisan issue within our community. We had work boots and Subarus in our parking lot and they were united in their position against the Flock cameras,” — Josh Young, a Republican commissioner of Macon County, North Carolina

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• “When a tool that is actively helping solve violent crimes is removed, public safety moves backward,” — Courtney Terlecki, a spokesperson for Flock

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• “Flock offers a nationwide lookup and statewide sharing network that is only accessible to our local and state law enforcement partners,” — the Flock spokesperson

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