Rahul Somvanshi
Cameras designed to catch criminals are being used to track your movements—sometimes for reasons that have nothing to do with law enforcement. Flock Safety operates the largest network of license plate readers in America, with thousands of cameras photographing vehicles and storing their locations in searchable databases that police departments can access.
The technology seemed straightforward: catch criminals by tracking their vehicles. But what actually happened tells a different story.
In July 2026, five Albany Police officers were arrested for misusing Flock data to track people they knew personally. Three Richmond County sheriff’s officers each searched the system over 100 times, using it to stalk people they had no legitimate law enforcement reason to monitor. A Texas officer searched license plate data to identify a woman seeking abortion services. In Milwaukee, a police officer used Flock to keep tabs on a former romantic partner.
The Institute for Justice documented at least 22 separate cases where officers abused the system specifically to track romantic interests. These weren’t isolated mistakes—the patterns show a systemic problem baked into how police can access the technology without warrants or meaningful oversight.
The American Civil Liberties Union has been warning about this for years. When Flock announced changes in August 2026 meant to address privacy concerns, the ACLU called them a “thinly veiled PR attempt.” The company shortened data storage from 30 days to 7 days and added features to flag suspicious searches. But those changes leave major gaps.
Under the new system, officers still need just a case number—any case number—to search the database. There’s no real warrant requirement. And when Flock’s new “Evidence Mode” marks data as relevant to a case, that information gets stored indefinitely, potentially defeating the purpose of shorter data retention.
What troubles civil rights groups most is how the technology targets specific communities. Police have used license plate data to identify Romani people, track women visiting abortion clinics, and monitor people attending protests. These aren’t accidental problems—they’re built into how the system works when there’s almost no oversight.
At least 30 communities have canceled their Flock contracts since 2025, recognizing that the risks outweigh the benefits. The ACLU launched a national campaign called “Get the Flock Out” in June 2026, pushing cities and towns to drop the service entirely.
The fourth amendment was written to protect Americans from unreasonable searches. License plate readers create permanent records of everywhere you drive—your movements tracked without your knowledge or permission. When police can access this data without warrants, the Constitution’s protection becomes meaningless.
Flock says it’s committed to preventing abuse. By the end of 2026, all police departments using the system must activate mandatory audit features. Whether that actually stops officers from tracking people they shouldn’t be tracking remains to be seen. What’s clear is that this technology has become a way to monitor Americans’ movements at scale, and current safeguards aren’t working.
