Flock Safety license‑plate cameras face privacy backlash across US

City officials and police departments in several U.S. communities are grappling with the deployment of Flock Safety's automated license‑plate reader cameras. In Fresno, California, police operate about 70 cameras and say they conduct monthly audits, while critics at a community forum raised privacy concerns. Flock CEO Garrett Langley told reporters, “Once they understand what the technology actually does… it takes a picture of a car,” emphasizing the system’s limited scope.

In Costa Mesa, the city council voted 6‑1 to retain 46 Flock cameras but directed staff to renegotiate contract terms after a police officer allegedly used the devices to stalk individuals. The cameras will remain in service pending further review.

New Jersey police praised the technology for aiding vehicle theft investigations, yet state legislators called for stronger safeguards over data collection and sharing. Flock spokesperson Josh Thomas noted that the cameras record only license plates and “visible vehicle characteristics,” with data deleted after 30 days.

Separately, a class‑action lawsuit filed in California alleges that Home Depot secretly surveilled customers in its parking lots with Flock cameras and stored the data in a law‑enforcement‑accessible database. Flock responded that its products do not include facial‑recognition technology.