Flock Safety

Flock was founded in 2017.{{cite news|url=https://www.fox6now.com/news/wisconsin-ai-powered-flock-cameras |title=Wisconsin AI-powered Flock cameras are tracking where you drive|first1=Bryan|last1=Polcyn|work=FOX6 News Milwaukee|date=August 2, 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Flock Safety |title=Media Kit: Our Founding Story |url=https://www.flocksafety.com/media-kit |access-date=8 April 2022 |website=Flock Safety}} It was co-founded by three Georgia Tech alumni: Garrett Langley (chief executive officer), Paige Todd (chief people officer), and Matt Feury (chief technology officer).{{cite news |last1=Edmonson |first1=Crystal |title=Flock Safety cameras help police amid worker shortage, CEO Garrett Langley says (Podcast) |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2023/08/22/flock-safety-ceo-garrett-langley-podcast.html |work=Atlanta Business Chronicle |date=August 22, 2023}} Despite the article title, the linked source is an actual article and not a mere transcript of a podcast.{{Cite web |last=Southerland |first=Randy |date=2024-04-26 |title=Flock Safety employment reaches 900; develops new products |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2024/04/26/flock-safety-job-growth-expansion.html |url-access=subscription |url-status= |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240427163637/https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2024/04/26/flock-safety-job-growth-expansion.html |archive-date=2024-04-27 |access-date= |website=Atlanta Business Chronicle}} It began as a side project in which the three co-founders built their first video surveillance cameras by hand around Langley's dining room table. When a DeKalb County detective told Langley that his camera product had helped with solving a home break-in, Langley called the two other co-founders and told them to quit their jobs.

Flock has raised $380 million in venture funding, with a $3.5 billion valuation in 2022.{{Cite web |title=Flock Safety IPO - Investing Pre-IPO |url=https://forgeglobal.com/flock-safety_ipo/ |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=forgeglobal.com |language=en}}

By 2024, Flock's fixed cameras had been installed in over 4,000 cities across 42 states.{{Cite web |last=Cheng |first=Isabella |date=2022-02-16 |title=Flock Raises Another $150 Million, Valuation Now At $3.5 Billion |url=https://ipvm.com/reports/flock-e |access-date=2022-04-08 |website=IPVM |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Investing in Flock Safety |url=https://a16z.com/announcement/investing-in-flock-safety/ |access-date=2023-12-11 |website=Andreessen Horowitz |language=en}} By April of that year, Flock employed over 900 people. That October, Flock acquired Aerodome, a manufacturer of drones for law enforcement, and announced plans to introduce its own line of drones.{{Cite web |date=2024-10-16 |title=Flock Safety acquires Aerodome to expand into drone-based law enforcement solutions |url=https://www.police1.com/tech-pulse/flock-safety-acquires-aerodome-to-expand-into-drone-based-law-enforcement-solutions |website=Police1}}

File:Flock Safety camera.jpg]]

Flock's most popular products, the Falcon and Sparrow, are cameras which monitor traffic and photograph the rear of all passing vehicles. Their software uses artificial intelligence to read the vehicles' license plates and identify other distinguishing visual characteristics, sending that information to a central server via cellular network.{{Cite web |last=Katz-Lecabe |first=Mike |date=2022-04-01 |title=Dissection of Flock Safety Camera |url=https://www.cehrp.org/dissection-of-flock-safety-camera/ |access-date= |website=The Center for Human Rights and Privacy}} Flock's servers then log this identifying data, with the time and location of the scan, in a searchable database, and compare all results with the National Crime Information Center, as well as state and local police watchlists of cars that are reported stolen or otherwise of interest to the police, instantly alerting nearby officers upon a match.{{Cite web |last=Marlow |first=Chad |last2=Stanley |first2=Jay |date=2023-02-13 |title=How to Pump the Brakes on Your Police Department’s Use of Flock’s Mass Surveillance License Plate Readers |url=https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/how-to-pump-the-brakes-on-your-police-departments-use-of-flocks-mass-surveillance-license-plate-readers |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=American Civil Liberties Union |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Murphy |first=Andy |date=2023-12-06 |title=What Is A Flock Camera? |url=https://www.thesecuredad.com/post/what-is-a-flock-camera |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=thesecuredad |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Bunch |first=Edward III |date=2023-07-26 |title=A new kind of surveillance camera is coming to some Florida neighborhoods. What we know |url=https://www.pnj.com/story/news/traffic/2023/07/26/flock-safety-cameras-crime-prevention-police-license-plate-reader/70468342007/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=Pensacola News Journal |language=en-US}}

ALPRs like Flock's differ from traffic enforcement cameras in that they are used exclusively for surveillance and criminal investigations, and do not perform any enforcement of traffic laws.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-got-your-number/165632679/ | title=Got Your Number: City law enforcement begins testing license plate cameras |date=January 23, 2022|work=The Columbus Republic|pages=A1|via=newspapers.com}} {{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-number-continued/165634457/ | title=Continued on A4}}{{Cite web |date=2023-07-17 |title=Innovative license plate reader technology now in use on CU Boulder campus |url=https://www.colorado.edu/today/2023/07/17/innovative-license-plate-reader-technology-now-use-cu-boulder-campus |access-date= |website=CU Boulder Today |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=License Plate Readers |url=https://www.lexingtonky.gov/flock-safety-license-plate-readers |access-date= |website=City of Lexington, Kentucky |language=en}}

Flock claims that its system's ability to identify vehicles' visual features, which it calls "vehicle fingerprint technology", is unique among ALPR systems; they state that the system can identify vehicles' make, model, and color, as well as other distinguishing attributes such as mismatching colors, bumper stickers, dents, and temporary license plates, allowing investigators to search for recorded vehicles based on these characteristics.{{Cite web |date=2021-08-23 |title=Fort Worth, Texas, Deploys Solar-Powered License Plate Cameras |url=https://www.govtech.com/news/fort-worth-texas-deploys-solar-powered-license-plate-cameras |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=GovTech |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2021-08-20 |title=West Covina Police Install Network Of Flock Safety License Plate Reading Cameras In Strategic Locations - CBS Los Angeles |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/west-covina-police-install-network-flock-safety-license-plate-reading-cameras-strategic-locations/ |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}} Flock claims that its ALPRs can capture images of vehicles traveling at up to 100 mph, at distances of up to 75 feet, regardless of lighting.

As explained by Flock's investors, the system is meant to become more useful as adoption grows:

{{Blockquote|text="What magnifies the power of Flock Safety even more is that the digital evidence can be pooled across different law enforcement agencies for a short period of time, making it more powerful as adoption scales within a community and across the U.S. more broadly...The power of Flock Safety is in its network. The more devices deployed, the more evidence there is to solve crimes."}}

Most Flock devices are powered by solar panels and rechargeable batteries, allowing them to operate in locations without access to mains electricity.{{Cite web |last=McNamara |first=Kevin |date=2022-03-25 |title=Ask 10: What are the solar-powered cameras attached to power poles? |url=https://ktvl.com/news/local/ask-10-what-are-the-solar-powered-cameras-attached-to-power-poles |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=KTVL |language=en}} Many are mounted on manufacturer-supplied poles, while others are affixed to existing lampposts or telephone poles.{{Cite web |last=O'Horo |first=Ryan |date=2023-11-21 |title=Surveillance as a Service Part 1: Flock Safety’s Transparency Problem |url=https://medium.com/@redteamwrangler/keeping-an-eye-on-flock-safety-alpr-cameras-313efd4f931e |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=Medium |language=en}} Flock's primary competitor in the ALPR market is Motorola Solutions.{{Cite web |last=Brewster |first=Thomas |date=2024-02-27 |title=This $4 Billion Car Surveillance Startup Says It Cuts Crime. But It Likely Broke The Law. |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/02/27/flock-safety-surveillance-broke-state-law/ |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240227124141/https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/02/27/flock-safety-surveillance-broke-state-law/?sh=60d6234d2a8f |archive-date=2024-02-27 |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=Forbes |language=en}}

Flock offers software which integrates its ALPR and vehicle identification software into existing video camera systems, including Axon dashcams widely used in police vehicles.{{Cite web |last=Axon |title=Axon Partners with Flock Safety to Enhance Security for Cities and Neighborhoods |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/axon-partners-with-flock-safety-to-enhance-security-for-cities-and-neighborhoods-301033947.html |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=www.prnewswire.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=MyAxon |url=https://my.axon.com/s/article/ALPR-FAQs-Fleet-3?language=en_US |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=MyAxon |language=en-US}}

In May 2025, 404 Media reported that Flock was developing a new product called Nova that the company referred as a "public safety data platform," which would supplement ALPR data with information from data breaches, public records, and commercially available data in order to track specific individuals without a warrant, and which as of May 2025 was already in use by law enforcement in an Early Access program.{{Cite web |last=Cox |first=Joseph |date=2025-05-14 |title=License Plate Reader Company Flock Is Building a Massive People Lookup Tool, Leak Shows |url=https://www.404media.co/license-plate-reader-company-flock-is-building-a-massive-people-lookup-tool-leak-shows/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250514140531/https://www.404media.co/license-plate-reader-company-flock-is-building-a-massive-people-lookup-tool-leak-shows/ |archive-date=2025-05-14 |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=404 Media |language=en}}

Launched in 2021, the lesser-known Flock Raven is an audio gunfire locator, similar in function to ShotSpotter.{{Cite web |last= |date=2021-10-20 |title=Flock Expands Into Gunshot And Audio Analytics (Raven) |url=https://ipvm.com/reports/flock-raven-expand |url-access=subscription |access-date= |website=IPVM |language=en}} The Raven records audio in 5-second increments, using artificial intelligence to analyze the sound clips for audible gunfire; when a gunshot is detected, the device estimates its location and alerts police.{{Cite web |last=Gagliano |first=Katie |date=2024-02-15 |title=Lafayette Police testing gunshot detection system in high-crime neighborhoods |url=https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/crime_police/lafayette-police-using-gunshot-detection-devices-in-city/article_dba7c860-c214-11ee-9f85-e7cec7cfbb10.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240216044035/https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/crime_police/lafayette-police-using-gunshot-detection-devices-in-city/article_dba7c860-c214-11ee-9f85-e7cec7cfbb10.html |archive-date=2024-02-16 |access-date= |website=The Advocate |language=en}} Like the ALPRs, they can be mounted on manufacturer-supplied poles and powered by solar panels.{{Cite web |last=Willard |first=Keenan |date=2023-12-08 |title=Fort Worth to add automatic gunshot audio detectors to some neighborhoods |url=https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/fort-worth-to-add-automatic-gunshot-audio-detectors-to-neighborhoods-through-flock-safety/3406794/ |access-date= |website=NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth |language=en-US}}

While companies in this space tend to primarily target law enforcement as customers, Flock Safety also markets its products to community organizations and private entities. The company's marketing centers on efforts to reduce crime community security, while naming its products after birds, assertedly to reinforce the theme of watchfulness. Flock owns and operates all of its devices,{{Cite web |date=2019-04-19 |title=Does My Neighborhood Need A Flock Safety License Plate Reader? |url=https://www.flocksafety.com/articles/flock-safety-does-my-neighborhood-need-flock-security-cameras |access-date= |website=Flock Safety |language=en}} leasing them to law enforcement agencies,{{Cite web |last=Polcyn |first=Bryan |date=2023-08-02 |title=Wisconsin AI-powered Flock cameras are tracking where you drive |url=https://www.fox6now.com/news/wisconsin-ai-powered-flock-cameras |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=FOX6 News Milwaukee |language=en-US}} homeowners' associations,{{Cite web |last=Griffin |first=Joel |date=2019-11-05 |title=Flock Safety makes ALPR tech affordable for the masses |url=https://www.securityinfowatch.com/video-surveillance/license-plate-detection/article/21113152/flock-safety-makes-alpr-tech-affordable-for-the-masses |access-date= |website=Security Info Watch |language=en}} schools,{{Cite web |date=2023-11-16 |title=Licking Heights schools install flock cameras to detect criminals in the area |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6IBNOMM0Sk |website=WBNS-TV |type=Video |via=YouTube}} retailers,{{Cite web |last=Koch |first=Alexandra |title=Man accused of stealing more than $5,500 worth of merchandise from Lowe's in Evans |url=https://www.augustachronicle.com/story/news/crime/2023/03/06/lowes-security-system-flags-man-accused-of-stealing-5000-in-items/69977325007/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=The Augusta Chronicle |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Brewster |first=Thomas |date=2024-05-06 |title=America’s Biggest Mall Owner Is Sharing AI Surveillance Feeds Directly With Cops |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/05/06/simon-property-and-flock-safety-feed-ai-surveillance-feeds-to-the-cops/ |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240506193054/https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/05/06/simon-property-and-flock-safety-feed-ai-surveillance-feeds-to-the-cops/?sh=3623819a66c5#selection-603.0-606.0 |archive-date=2024-05-06 |access-date= |website=Forbes |language=en}} and commercial and residential property managers.{{Cite web |last=aidenmcguire |date=2024-02-01 |title=Flock Safety Cameras Help Keep Destiny USA and Syracuse Community Safe |url=https://www.pyramidmg.com/flock-safety-cameras-help-keep-destiny-usa-and-syracuse-community-safe/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=Pyramid Management Group |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Creative |first=Cube |title=Regency Park Greenwood - Safety Is a High Priority at Regency Park with FLOCK |url=https://regencyparkgreenwood.com/articles/safety-is-a-high-priority-at-regency-park-with-flock |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=regencyparkgreenwood.com |language=en-gb}} Private customers are able to create customizable watchlists in the system,{{Cite news |date=2021-08-04 |title=Suburbs of Surveillance |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-08-04/surveillance-startup-brings-police-tech-to-neighborhoods |access-date=2023-12-10 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en}} and many share data from their systems with police agencies.{{Cite web |last=Brewster |first=Thomas |title=FedEx’s Secretive Police Force Is Helping Cops Build An AI Car Surveillance Network |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/06/19/fedex-police-help-cops-build-an-ai-car-surveillance-network/ |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240626111657/https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/06/19/fedex-police-help-cops-build-an-ai-car-surveillance-network/ |archive-date=2024-06-26 |access-date= |website=Forbes |language=en}}

Major private Flock customers include:

• Lowe's
• Simon Property Group
• Kaiser Permanente{{Cite web |last=Lin |first=Da |date=2023-12-01 |title=Privacy advocates accuse Kaiser of not following state law on license plate readers - CBS San Francisco |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/kaiser-permanente-license-plate-readers-privacy-advocates-allege-not-following-sb34/ |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}
• FedEx
• Pyramid Management Group
• Academy Sports + Outdoors{{Cite web |date=2024-08-29 |title=Academy Sports Tackles Organized Retail Crime With Flock Safety |url=https://www.flocksafety.com/resources/academy-sports-tackles-organized-retail-crime-with-flock-safety |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240904234314/https://www.flocksafety.com/resources/academy-sports-tackles-organized-retail-crime-with-flock-safety |archive-date=2024-09-04 |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=Flock Safety |language=en}}
• Dierbergs Markets{{Cite web |title=Flock Safety Helps Dierbergs Market Solve ORC Case of $20K+ in Stolen Merchandise |url=https://www.flocksafety.com/resources/flock-safety-helps-dierbergs-market-solve-orc-case-of-20k-in-stolen-merchandise |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=Flock Safety |language=en}}

Flock claims that their technology significantly reduces crime where deployed; in 2024, the company claimed that its devices were involved in 10% of successful criminal investigations in the United States.{{Cite web |date=2024-02-14 |title=10% of Reported Crime in the U.S. Is Solved Using Flock Technology |url=https://www.flocksafety.com/articles/10-of-reported-crime-in-the-u-s-is-solved-using-flock-technology |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=Flock Safety |language=en}}

One community in Fort Worth, an HOA, used to experience two to three vehicle robbery and other property crime incidents a month and currently, they are down to less than five each year in the past two years with a record of several arrests by the Fort Worth Police Department of criminal actors who entered the neighborhood using stolen vehicles or those with warrants attached to their vehicles.

Some law enforcement agencies have said that the technology is "[h]elpful at generating investigative leads and solving crimes that may have otherwise gone unsolved", with some additionally claiming a deterrent effect. In May 2023, Atlanta police (Cobb County) credited a Flock license plate recognition system for helping them track down a gunman.{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Adam |date=2023-05-05 |title="Camera network helped to find Midtown mass shooting suspect, police say" |url=https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/05/04/camera-network-helped-find-midtown-mass-shooting-suspect-police-say/ |access-date=8 May 2023 |agency=Atlanta News First}} In an August 2023 case, it was reported that Flock Safety cameras had helped to locate a missing 83-year-old woman in Alabama by identifying the location of her vehicle.Brionna McCall, "[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-opelika-auburn-news-camera-system-he/166347837/ Camera system helps authorities find missing woman]", The Opelika-Auburn News (August 24, 2023), p. A2.

In 2024, Cyrus Farivar, writing for Forbes, questioned a statistic crediting Flock Safety's technology with an 80% reduction in residential burglaries in San Marino, California in early 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, with Farivar's piece asserting that burglaries actually slightly increased, and that serious crimes remained nearly unchanged.{{Cite web |last=Farivar |first=Cyrus |title=Flock Installed AI Cameras In This Small City And Claimed Crime Went Down. It Went Up. |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/cyrusfarivar/2024/02/29/flock-ai-cameras-may-not-reduce-crime/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=Forbes |language=en}} Farivar also questioned similar claims claims from flock regarding Fort Worth, Dayton, and Lexington.

Privacy concerns have been raised with respect to ALPRs generally, including Flock's systems.{{Cite news |last=Joh |first=Elizabeth |date=2019-09-24 |title=The Rise of Networked Vigilante Surveillance |url=https://slate.com/technology/2019/09/flock-automatic-license-plate-readers-neighborhood-surveillance.html |access-date=2023-12-08 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}}{{Cite web |last=Sheridan |first=Stacey |date=2022-04-05 |title=Oak Park to get eight license plate reading cameras |url=https://www.oakpark.com/2022/04/05/oak-park-to-get-eight-license-plate-reading-cameras/ |access-date=2022-04-08 |website=Oak Park |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Harwell |first=Drew |date=2021-10-21 |title=License plate scanners were supposed to bring peace of mind. Instead they tore the neighborhood apart. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/22/crime-suburbs-license-plate-readers/ |work=The Washington Post}} Additionally, Flock's surveillance model has also spurred debates between supporters and opponents of the technology.{{Cite news |last=Harwell |first=Drew |date=2021-10-23 |title=License plate scanners were supposed to bring peace of mind. Instead they tore the neighborhood apart. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/22/crime-suburbs-license-plate-readers/ |access-date=2023-12-07 |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite web |date=2023-12-06 |title=Council Debating License Plate Readers |url=https://www.goodtimes.sc/council-debating-license-plate-readers/ |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=Good Times |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Writer |first=Billy Jarrell Staff |date=2023-12-08 |title=Citizens express dissent at Flock Safety security system informational meeting |url=https://www.lincolnnewsnow.com/news/local/citizens-express-dissent-at-flock-safety-security-system-informational-meeting/article_0ea1ebe6-3545-11ed-adc8-f32b6512a88a.html |access-date=2023-12-11 |website=Lincoln News Now! |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Bradley |first=Kian |date=2023-11-09 |title=Mercer Island Debates Surveillance Cameras - The Urbanist |url=https://www.theurbanist.org/2023/11/09/mercer-island-debates-surveillance-cameras/ |access-date=2023-12-11 |website=www.theurbanist.org |language=en-US}} Flock's surveillance technology is often criticized for its broadening of public surveillance, and lead to a chilling effect on civil liberties, as described by privacy experts and organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union. The Electronic Frontier Foundation argues that ALPRs create more problems than they solve.{{Cite web |last=Guariglia |first=Jason Kelley and Matthew |date=2020-09-14 |title=Things to Know Before Your Neighborhood Installs an Automated License Plate Reader |url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/09/flock-license-plate-reader-homeowners-association-safe-problems |access-date=2022-04-08 |website=Electronic Frontier Foundation |language=en}}

In March 2022, the American Civil Liberties Union released a report criticizing Flock Safety's business model and products.{{Cite web |last=Stanley |first=Jay |date=2022-03-03 |title=Fast-Growing Company Flock is Building a New AI-Driven Mass-Surveillance System |url=https://www.aclu.org/report/fast-growing-company-flock-building-new-ai-driven-mass-surveillance-system |access-date=2022-04-08 |website=American Civil Liberties Union |language=en}} In 2023, the ACLU acknowledged some uses of ALPRS could be acceptable, but emphasized the need for careful controls:

{{Blockquote|text=We don't find every use of ALPRs objectionable. For example, we do not generally object to using them to check license plates against lists of stolen cars, for AMBER Alerts, or for toll collection, provided they are deployed and used fairly and subject to proper checks and balances, such as ensuring devices are not disproportionately deployed in low-income communities and communities of color, and that the "hot lists" they are run against are legitimate and up to date. But there's no reason the technology should be used to create comprehensive records of everybody's comings and goings — and that is precisely what ALPR databases like Flock's are doing. In our country, the government should not be tracking us unless it has individualized suspicion that we're engaged in wrongdoing.}}

Menlo Park, California opted out of a contract in 2023, bucking trends of nearby cities,{{Cite web |last=Rebosio |first=Cameron |title=Citing privacy concerns, Menlo Park says no to automated license plate readers |url=https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2023/09/28/citing-privacy-concerns-menlo-park-says-no-to-automated-license-plate-readers |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=www.almanacnews.com |language=en}} but revisited the question and approved Flock cameras in 2024.{{cite news|url=https://www.almanacnews.com/menlo-park/2024/05/08/menlo-park-city-council-moves-forward-with-developing-an-automatic-license-plate-reader-program/ |title=Menlo Park City Council moves forward with developing an automatic license plate reader program|first1=Eleanor|last1=Raab|work=The Almanac|date=May 8, 2024}}

In May 2024, it was reported by 404 Media that Flock data had been queried for use in immigration enforcement.{{Cite web |last=Koebler |first=Jason |last2=Cox |first2=Joseph |date=2025-05-27 |title=ICE Taps into Nationwide AI-Enabled Camera Network, Data Shows |url=https://www.404media.co/ice-taps-into-nationwide-ai-enabled-camera-network-data-shows/ |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=404 Media |language=en}}

In June 2024, a judge in the Norfolk, Virginia, Circuit Court ruled that collecting location data from the city's 172 Flock ALPRs constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment, and cannot be used as evidence in a criminal case when collected without a warrant. The ruling likened ALPR location databases to tracking devices, whose use by police was previously found unconstitutional without a warrant in United States v. Jones.{{Cite web |date=2024-06-15 |title=Norfolk judge rejects police Flock camera evidence without warrant |url=https://www.pilotonline.com/2024/06/15/one-nation-under-watch-norfolk-judge-rejects-police-flock-camera-evidence-without-warrant/ |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240624110849/https://www.pilotonline.com/2024/06/15/one-nation-under-watch-norfolk-judge-rejects-police-flock-camera-evidence-without-warrant/#selection-1543.0-1546.0 |archive-date=2024-06-24 |access-date= |website=The Virginian-Pilot |language=en-US}} Later, in October 2024, the Institute for Justice filed a federal lawsuit against the Norfolk Police Department on behalf of two local residents, similarly asserting that the department's use of Flock ALPRs constitutes illegal surveillance in violation of the Fourth Amendment.{{Cite web |last=Daniel |first=Lars |title=Privacy Violated, Warrantless Surveillance Alleges Flock Safety Camera Lawsuit |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/larsdaniel/2024/10/22/warrantless-surveillance-federal-lawsuit-challenges-flock-safety-cameras/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Forbes |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Littlehales |first=Alex |date=2024-10-22 |title=Federal lawsuit filed in Norfolk over use of traffic surveillance cameras |url=https://www.13newsnow.com/article/traffic/federal-lawsuit-flock-safety-cameras-surveillance-norfolk-va/291-737bf2b2-999b-48d3-9436-aa961495e71b |access-date= |website=WVEC-TV |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Brodkin |first=Jon |date=2024-10-22 |title=Lawsuit: City cameras make it impossible to drive anywhere without being tracked |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/lawsuit-city-cameras-make-it-impossible-to-drive-anywhere-without-being-tracked/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-US}}

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