Flock camera guides
Find documented cameras, compare apps, or research a local camera program. Each guide starts with an answer and shows its sources, review date and limits. For the long version, read the full ALPR explainer.
40 guides available
Find cameras and compare routes
How to find Flock cameras near you
Find Flock Safety cameras near you with a free camera map, your police department's transparency portal, and council records. What each one can and can't show.
How many Flock cameras are in the US?
FlockDetour maps 149,557 license plate readers in the US, 120,835 attributed to Flock Safety. See every state's count and why totals differ.
How to avoid Flock cameras, legally
The legal way to pass fewer Flock Safety cameras is route choice. How to find the documented cameras, compare routes, and where a detour stops working.
Why do Flock camera maps show different counts?
Comparing Flock camera counts? Check the boundary, ALPR and vendor filters, snapshot date, duplicate records and query limits before choosing a map.
Three route observations: one lower mapped count, two unchanged.
Three public-point route observations in Tampa, Atlanta and Washington. Exact endpoints, time estimates, camera estimates and results that did not improve.
Flock cameras in Canada: check ALPR records and the vendor
Find mapped ALPR cameras in Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver. Understand vendor labels, mobile police readers and gaps in Canadian camera-map coverage.
Compare camera-map apps
DeFlock, FlockHopper and FlockDetour compared
DeFlock, FlockHopper and FlockDetour all map Flock Safety cameras. What each one does, what it costs, which platforms it runs on, and where the data comes from.
FlockDetour vs DeFlock: choose by what you need to do
Compare FlockDetour and DeFlock for camera maps, OpenStreetMap contributions, route planning and mobile pricing. Dated sources and clear coverage limits.
FlockDetour vs FlockHopper: compare the trip and the feature split
Compare FlockDetour with FlockHopper, the app at DontGetFlocked. Free navigation claims, Pro differences, route observations and US/Canada map limitations.
Flock Safety: the company, the law and the debate
Why are Flock cameras controversial?
Critics object to warrantless searches of a shared network and to officers misusing it. Police and Flock point to solved cases. Here is what each side says.
Are Flock cameras legal?
Courts split on warrantless Flock searches. Read the October 2026 Oklahoma ruling, the Norfolk appeal, Chatrie v. United States and state limits.
Have I Been Flocked? What the plate lookup shows
Have I Been Flocked searches Flock audit logs released through public records. What a match means, why no match proves little, and how to get the logs yourself.
Who owns Flock Safety?
Flock Safety is a private Atlanta company led by co-founder Garrett Langley. See who started it, which venture firms fund it and whether it has public stock.
Does Flock share data with ICE?
Flock says it has no ICE contract and keeps federal sharing off by default. Audits and reporting show local searches for immigration cases. How to check yours.
Has Flock Safety been hacked?
Flock told customers in September 2026 that device location data was unlawfully taken. See what is confirmed, what researchers found and what is unknown.
Do Home Depot and Lowe's use Flock cameras?
Records show Flock plate readers at some Home Depot and Lowe's stores, and some police can search them. What each chain says, plus the California lawsuit.
Local camera research
Flock cameras in Washington, DC: the map, policy and jurisdiction
Compare DC's dated camera-map snapshot with MPD's April 2026 LPR policy, a Flock-specific agency statement and DDOT's separate traffic-camera program.
Flock cameras in Miami: which agency, which date and which road?
Read Miami's dated ALPR map with official county and Miami Beach records, plus the exact scope of Florida's August 2026 state-road permit memo.
Flock cameras in New York: what the map and NYPD records show
Read New York's dated ALPR map snapshot alongside NYPD policy, with clear distinctions between Flock labels, mobile readers and database access.
Flock cameras in Chicago: separate the map, the agency and the date
Compare Chicago's dated camera map with CPD policy, Cook County procurement and Oak Park's termination notice without confusing separate agencies.
Tampa's map has 234 ALPR records. That is not a police inventory.
Our October 3 Tampa snapshot has 234 ALPR records, 197 attributed to Flock. See the radius, sample records and why this is not a police inventory.
Atlanta's camera map and its police audit measure different things.
Atlanta's October 3 snapshot includes 1,318 ALPR records and 1,201 Flock labels. Separate map coverage from APD's September policy-review statement.
Why six Toronto map records cannot describe a mobile-reader fleet.
Toronto's fixed-location ALPR snapshot has six records. Toronto Police describes Axon readers in patrol vehicles. Learn why those numbers cannot be equated.
Understand the cameras
What are Flock cameras, and how do they work?
What a Flock Safety camera captures, how it is powered and connected, how hotlist alerts and searches work, and who can see the data. Sourced.
Do Flock cameras work at night?
Flock describes infrared capture at night and battery-backed solar power. Learn why darkness, visible lights and map pins do not prove whether a camera recorded you.
Do Flock cameras record audio or video?
Flock sells plate readers, video cameras and audio detectors. Separate image capture, sound analysis and retained clips before assessing a local installation.
Can Flock find a car without a readable license plate?
Flock advertises searches by vehicle attributes when plates are partial or missing. Learn how a candidate vehicle match differs from identifying a driver.
Can Flock cameras misread license plates?
Flock Safety acknowledges incomplete or inaccurate plate reads. Learn how a misread differs from a wrong hotlist match and what records clarify an incident.
Do Flock cameras use facial recognition?
Flock says its LPR system does not use facial recognition. Understand the difference between plate searches, video person searches and biometric matching.
Do Flock cameras track speed or give tickets?
Learn the difference between reading a license plate, measuring speed and issuing a ticket, with Flock specifications and official city examples.
Can the public view Flock camera footage?
A public camera map, a transparency portal and a police plate search are different tools. Learn what each shows and how to request agency records.
Records, retention and policy
How much do Flock cameras cost?
Compare documented Flock camera costs, annual subscriptions and contract totals. Learn which equipment, renewals and local costs to check before comparing prices.
What happens when a city cancels Flock cameras?
A Flock cancellation announcement is not proof that cameras are gone or records deleted. Check service, hardware, retention and map updates separately.
Can other agencies search your city's Flock camera data?
Research Flock data sharing across agencies and state lines. Separate permission, current settings, searches run on another agency's behalf and actual results.
What is a Flock network audit, and what does a row prove?
Understand organization audits, network-wide search rows and local camera results. Use report scope, dates and field definitions before alleging data access.
Can you opt out of Flock cameras?
Flock Safety's neighborhood SafeList offers a limited opt-out. Learn what it covers, what it cannot remove, and what to ask your HOA or camera operator.
HOA Flock cameras: who can access the data?
Check an HOA's Flock camera policy, authorized users, police sharing, retention and SafeList. A published policy example shows why local settings matter.
How long does Flock keep license plate data?
Flock Safety's default retention is now 7 days, but each agency sets its own. What 350 transparency portals listed, which state laws cap it, and how to check yours.
How to request your city's Flock audit logs
Step by step: find the agency, check its Flock transparency portal, and file a public records request for the search audit logs, with wording that has worked.
Is it legal to avoid Flock cameras?
Route choice versus plate covers, what courts have said about Flock cameras, and the state laws that limit them. General information, sourced, not legal advice.
FlockDetour reduces exposure to cameras documented in its current data. It cannot identify every camera, guarantee avoidance, replace traffic laws, or ensure a route is surveillance-free. Always follow posted signs and drive safely.
FlockDetour is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Flock Safety or any surveillance vendor.