The Institute of Justice conducted a review of media reports and identified at least 14 cases in the United States in which policemen have used Flock surveillance cameras to “keep tabs on their romantic interests, including partners, exes, and even strangers who unwittingly caught their eye in public.”
Flock has cameras with automated licence plate readers (ALPRs) installed on US highways or parking lots. Estimates suggest that there are over 80,000 Flock cameras across the US.
The institute noted that bulk of the cases were reported since 2024. All of the officers were criminally charged and lost their jobs, by getting fired or resigning.
“The fundamental problem with these systems is that they place private information about people’s movements over time in the hands of every officer,” said Michael Soyfer, an Institute for Justice attorney who is representing residents of San Jose and Norfolk in lawsuits challenging their cities’ ALPR surveillance networks. “Without the constitutional safeguard of a warrant requirement, that predictably allows officers to abuse their access to these systems for things like stalking romantic partners.”
In March, an officer resigned from the Milwaukee Police Department after using his department’s network of automated licence plate readers to track his romantic partner and one of his partner’s exes nearly 180 times in two months. The officer’s conduct came to light after the victims looked up their license plate numbers on HaveIBeenFlocked.com, which collects audit data from Flock made public by some local governments.
The company has said that it supports “democratically authorised governing bodies” determine how its technology is used. “The fundamental problem with these systems is that they place private information about people’s movements over time in the hands of every officer,” said Michael Soyfer of the Institute of Justice. “Without the constitutional safeguard of a warrant requirement, that predictably allows officers to abuse their access to these systems for things like stalking romantic partners.”
