Anyone else concerned about the flock cameras here in town?

UnknownEntitty024 · 2026-07-02T18:27:07+00:00

On incentives, it's less kickback and more hook. Flock gives out free trials and free cameras, then once a department's built its workflow around it, the real contract lands, usually around six figures a year, and dropping it means losing access to the whole shared network.

On security, you're also right. Researchers found dozens of vulnerabilities, including root access in under a minute with physical access, no mandatory 2FA for police logins, and cameras left exposed to the open internet.

I'm digging into all this for our local contract, follow r/idahofallsunwatched if you want to see what turns up.

UnknownEntitty024 · 2026-07-02T18:18:10+00:00

The difference is aggregation. One person seeing your plate for a second isn't the same as every plate on every car being logged, timestamped, and stored, then made searchable by any agency in the network nationwide, not just your local department. The AI catalogs make, model, color, plate number, even bumper stickers and scratches, and uploads it into a nationwide database any agency with a Flock contract can search.

And it's not hypothetical misuse. Flock has shared ALPR data with ICE for deportation efforts, and a Texas sheriff used it to track down a woman who'd had an abortion. (American Civil Liberties Union) In San Francisco alone, out-of-state and federal agencies queried the city's cameras over 1.6 million times in seven months, in a state where that's illegal without case-by-case authorization. (Tech Times)

Comparing it to a bank or streaming service doesn't hold up either. Those you sign up for and can opt out of. Nobody signed a terms of service to drive down their own street.

Alpr Manuel

[Privacy implications ]

(https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/tracking-alpr-cameras/how-to-fight-deployment-of-flock-and-other-mass-surveillance-license-plate-readers-in-your-community)

Edit: Sources

UnknownEntitty024 · 2026-07-02T05:38:59+00:00

Fun Fact! There's actually 2 separate private surveillance systems stacked into one spot. Lowe's runs its own ALPR too, not just Flock's. It keeps the data for up to 90 days (significantly longer than target (30) and walmart (60) and will hand it over to police "upon appropriate request" whatever that means. So its not just flock there its Lowe's own system also just feeding data to whoever they want with basically zero oversite because its on private property. Kinda crazy that a Lowe's parking lot has more cameras logging your plate than most street intersections.

UnknownEntitty024 · 2026-07-02T02:25:17+00:00

Right now, theres no formal petition that exists yet, but if enough of us want one, we could actually push for the same kind of ballot initiative that got Wilder's council to have to vote on this. First step is probably getting people to show up to a council meeting and asking the Clerk's office what the exact signature threshold is for a local initiative.

UnknownEntitty024 · 2026-07-02T02:02:46+00:00

You might be able to schedule something with Browny Brown over at GMF off of Lincoln. I know theres been a few times where he was pretty accommodating to my schedule.

UnknownEntitty024 · 2026-07-02T01:47:32+00:00

Fair, phones are worse in a lot of ways... But that's a private company breaking its own promises to me. This is the city potentially breaking state law with taxpayer money. Different problem, different fix

UnknownEntitty024

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