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- Flock
- DeFlock Everywhere!
- Surveillance Technology and Video Deep-Dives
- California Cities Rejecting Flock
- Lawsuits Against Agencies Using ALPRs
- Abuses of the System
- Connection to the Surveillance State
Flock
- FBI data shows ALPRs did NOT improve crime clearance rates in Atlanta
- Rebuttals to Police Defenses of ALPRs – Rebuttals to common law enforcement defenses of ALPRs
- Flock Playbook: “How to Speak to City Councils about Public Safety Technology – A coordinated effort from Flock Safety to compel law enforcement agencies to convince our elected leaders to represent Flock’s interests as a company rather than the interests of concerned citizens.
- ALPRs Are Designed To Be Invasive – Rather than data minimization, ALPRs use a strategy of data maximalization, putting the public at substantial risk.
- Flock Drone promotional video includes footage from Elk Grove PD’s Real Time Information Center (RTIC) at the 1:08 minute mark and possibly at the 1:00 minute mark, as well. Is Elk Grove PD getting a financial kickback for being in this promo video?
- Flock Taught Cops How to Surveil No Kings Protesters – Mass surveillance example in this webinar shows a car meet in Elk Grove – the 2021 Paul Walker Meet on Sheldon Rd. Again, is Elk Grove PD getting a financial kickback for being in Flock’s training videos?
- Have I Been Flocked? Check your license plate to see if it’s appeared in a Flock search (that we know of).
- deflock.org. An open-source map of known Flock automated license plate readers.
- Flock Safety has been aggressively attempting to get the Have I Been Flocked site removed from the internet, despite Have I Been Flocked using publicly available data.
- Researchers claim Flock cameras are easy to hack, have significant security vulnerabilities
- Woodland, California’s audit of Flock, March 2026
DeFlock Everywhere!
Elk Grove isn’t alone in the fight against Flock. Check out other local groups involved in this fight:
- DeFlock Sac Metro (Countywide)
- DeFlock Woodland
- DeFlock Roseville
- DeFlock Auburn
- DeFlock Grass Valley
- DeFlock Nevada County
- DeFlock Yuba-Sutter Counties
NorCal Resist is helping these local groups work together to get Flock out of northern California.
Surveillance Technology and Video Deep-Dives
- An overview of street-level surveillance technologies by the Electronic Frontier Foundation
- Dr. Jon Padfield’s “Business Reform” page on YouTube, exploring surveillance, data, AI, and corporate power
- 404 Media videos on YouTube and articles on the website investigate ALPRs
- Benn Jordan on YouTube exposing Flock ALPR issues
California Cities Rejecting Flock
California cities and counties are starting realize that Flock isn’t right for them. The following cities have cancelled their Flock contracts, and Elk Grove could be next!
- Grass Valley, August 2026
- Bishop, June 2026
- El Cerrito, May 2026
- Lakewood, March 2026
- Campbell, February 2026
- Mountain View, February 2026
- Oxnard, February 2026
- Santa Clara County, February 2026
- Windsor, February 2026
- Los Altos Hills, January 2026
- Santa Cruz, January 2026
- Eureka, February 2025
Cities across the country have also begun “ditching their Flock license plate readers.” For an up-to-date list of contract cancellations nationwide, check out the Flock Termination Tracker at Secure Justice.
Lawsuits Against Agencies Using ALPRs
- Georgia woman files class action suit against Flock Safety (2026)
- UC Berkeley faces lawsuit over Flock records as surveillance controversy grows (2026)
- SIREN, et al. v. City of San Jose, et al. (2025)
- Boulder residents sue police department over Flock camera surveillance (2026)
- Flock License Plate Cameras Face Class Action Lawsuit by Gibbs Mura, A Law Group (2026)
- San Jose residents sue over city’s automated license plate reader network, citing mass surveillance concerns (2026)
- Secure Justice, Inc. v The City of Oakland (2025)
- Lee Schmidt and Crystal Arrington v. Norfolk Police Department (2024)
Abuses of the System
- In May 2025, the Sacramento PD searched the Flock network for the term “g*psy,” a racial slur for the Romani people. The search covered 468 networks.
- In Texas, law enforcement used the nationwide Flock network to track a woman who traveled out of state for an abortion.
- Police in Houston have been instructed to “be as vague as permissible” when providing a reason for Flock searches, suggesting that they know that the public is not okay with Flock’s nationwide surveillance network being used against civilians.
- Over 50 law enforcement agencies have used Flock to track political demonstrators and protesters, in apparent efforts to prevent citizens from exercising their First Amendment rights of free speech and free assembly.
Connection to the Surveillance State
Flock is just one part of a larger surveillance project that American technology firms have undertaken this century. Palantir Technologies, founded by Peter Thiel, is a technology company that integrates data and surveillance from multiple sources. The United States government, including agencies like DHS, NSA, FBI, and the military contract with Palantir “to connect databases across departments,” effectively increasing the reach of any agency plugged into the network. ICE is a significant customer for Palantir: “In 2025, Palantir held roughly $145 million in ICE contract obligations.” ICE is also spending $30 million dollars specifically to have Palantir build an “‘Immigration OS’ surveillance platform.”
A key piece of Palantir’s ICE system is ALPR data, including data from Flock. How do these data travel from street-level cameras to Palantir and ICE?
- Flock cameras track vehicle movements.
- Data are shared across agency networks, which happens automatically through Flock’s system and without anyone obtaining a warrant.
- Agencies integrate Flock data into Palantir.
- Palantir combines license plate data with:
- Social media activity
- Financial records
- Immigration status
- Biometric data
- Travel histories
- Health records
- AI analyzes patterns and flags individuals.
- Federal agencies (especially ICE) query Palantir databases.
California’s SB 34 law should prevent this type of data-sharing with federal agencies, yet using the Flock network, ICE and others are able to access Californian’s data. Cutting off the Flock network removes an important source of information from this broad surveillance network.