Early this year, my home city of Bend, Oregon, ended its contract with surveillance company Flock Safety, following months of public pressure and concerns around weak data privacy protections. Flock’s controversial AI-powered license plate cameras were shut down, and its partnership with local law enforcement ended.
We weren’t the only city to actively reject Flock cameras. Since the start of 2026, dozens of cities have suspended or deactivated contracts with Flock Safety, labeling it a vast surveillance network. Others might not be aware that automated license plate readers, commonly referred to as ALPR cameras, have already been installed in their neighborhood.
Flock gripped news headlines late last year when the company was under the microscope during widespread crackdowns by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Though Flock doesn’t currently have a direct partnership with federal agencies (a blurry line I’ll discuss more), law enforcement agencies are free to share data with departments like ICE, and they frequently do.
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