Flock cameras are popping up with increased frequency across the country, prompting concerned citizens to create websites tracking their presence.
Open-source websites like DeFlock and Eyes On Flock allow online users to track where Flock, and other automated license plate readers, are installed throughout the United States. The sites also report on how this information is being used by the organizations that install them.
More recently, growing levels of pushback and misuse cases by law enforcement have prompted Flock to announce a new set of security measures. Here’s what Illinois residents should know.
What are Flock cameras? Why are they controversial?
Flock is just one brand of automated license plate readers, manufactured by Flock Safety. Automated license plate readers, also manufactured by companies like Motorola Solutions and Genetec, can capture a vehicle’s license plate number, make, model, color and other identifying features, like bumper stickers and body damage. They are being installed by local law enforcement, municipalities and private entities, like home and business owners, who say the cameras are deterring crime and catching criminals.
Flock Safety provides law enforcement access to a searchable, nationwide database that the company and its supporters say helped police locate missing people, recover stolen vehicles and track down suspects including in high profile crimes like the 2025 mass shooting at Brown University.
But critics call the cameras a privacy nightmare, with some going as far as claiming the cameras are a breach of the Fourth Amendment, which protects U.S. citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. Distaste for the cameras, in some areas, has even gone as far as vandalism.
Automated license plate readers have been shot at in Tennessee, hit with a truck in California, beat with a baseball bat in Virginia, cut down with a saw in Texas, splattered with paint in New York and regularly blocked by a lone protester in Florida.
The company previously told USA TODAY it does not condemn vandalism toward its equipment.
“People have every right to make their voices heard, but criminal acts should never be part of that process,” spokesperson Paris Lewbel said. “Damaging public safety equipment ultimately hurts the very communities this technology is there to help protect.”
Flock rolls out safeguards to protect privacy
Flock Safety announced Thursday, Aug. 13, that it’s rolling out new measures to curb the misuse of its system by law enforcement officers. CEO Garrett Langley told USA TODAY the new measures will send up flags for any attempted misuse.
The following new features will be implemented, according to the company:
Langley said such misuse cases should be illegal in every state, advocating for lawmakers to add similar safeguards to all the tools police use.
“A search without a reason is a search that shouldn’t happen in the first place,” Flock Safety said in a news release.
Are there Flock cameras in Illinois?
DeFlock’s interactive map shows nearly 6,000 plate readers in Illinois, primarily concentrated in and around Chicago, the Quad Cities, east St. Louis, Peoria and Springfield.
More than 400 plate readers are located in Chicago alone, with the number increasing to over 4,500 as you zoom out to the Chicagoland area, according to the site.
How to check if your license plate has been ‘Flocked’
A website called Have I Been Flocked? allows online users to search their license plate number to see if it has been picked up by an automated license plate reader.
According to the website, the searchable data comes from Flock Transparency Portals and public records requests submitted by Have I Been Flocked volunteers. Anyone is also capable of submitting public records requests with information about automated license plate readers to the website.
CONTRIBUTING: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: How many Flock cameras are in Illinois? How to check in your neighborhood
Reporting by Hannah Hudnall, Greta Cross and N’dea Yancey-Bragg, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Hannah Hudnall, Greta Cross and N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Peoria Journal Star | USA TODAY Network
