Flock camera guides
Plain answers about license plate readers: where they are, what they record, who can see it, and what you can do about it.
Finding cameras
Where they are, what they look like, and how to see the ones on your drive.
- How to find the Flock cameras near youFind the Flock Safety and ALPR cameras near you on a live map of 143,415 documented US plate readers — including which way each camera faces.3 min
- What does a Flock camera look like?A Flock Safety camera is a small dark rectangular box on a slim pole, about 4 metres up, with a solar panel and a black cylindrical lens facing one lane of traffic.3 min
- Are Flock camera locations public?Flock Safety does not publish camera locations, and most agencies are not required to. Here is what is actually public, and where the crowd-sourced map comes from.2 min
- Flock cameras on your routeYou cannot realistically drive around a 143,000-camera network. What you can do is know where the readers are, which way they face, and when you pass one.2 min
- How many Flock cameras are there?155,157 plate readers are documented worldwide and 143,415 in the United States across 49 states. Here is the full state-by-state breakdown.2 min
- Flock camera apps compared: alert apps, maps and the police appThe official Flock app is for police. Five public apps map plate readers instead. What each one does, costs and collects, compared by one of the makers.4 min
How they work
What a plate reader records, who makes them, and how they differ from other road cameras.
- How do Flock cameras work?A Flock camera photographs every passing vehicle, reads the plate with OCR, records make, model, colour and distinguishing features, and uploads a timestamped record.2 min
- Flock camera vs speed camera vs red-light cameraA Flock camera records that your vehicle passed a point. A speed or red-light camera exists to issue you a ticket. Different hardware, different law, different consequences.2 min
- ALPR brands: who makes the plate readers on your roadFlock Safety is 80% of documented US plate readers. The other 20% come from Motorola Solutions, Genetec, Axis, Leonardo, Rekor and a dozen more that do the same job.2 min
- Plate readers in shop car parksRetailers are among the largest private operators of licence plate readers. The open dataset documents about 1,800 at Lowe's and 1,200 at Home Depot across the US.2 min
- Do Flock cameras record video or audio?Flock's plate readers take still photos and record no sound. Its Condor video cameras and Raven gunshot sensors are other products. How to tell them apart.4 min
- How much does a Flock camera cost?Flock doesn't publish prices, but city contracts do. What eight places pay per camera per year, what the fee covers, and how to find your city's bill.4 min
- How far can a Flock camera read a license plate?Flock says about 75 feet, in a view only 20 feet wide. Why direction matters more than distance, and how the readers work at night.4 min
Your data
What happens to a read once it is taken, how long it is kept, and who can look.
- Did a Flock camera photograph my car?Whether a plate reader captured your car depends on the direction it faces, not just how close you drove. Here is how to work it out, and how to log it automatically.3 min
- Who can access Flock camera data?The operating agency controls its own reads, but national lookup and agency-to-agency sharing mean far more people can search them than run the cameras.2 min
- How long does Flock keep licence plate data?Flock Safety's standard retention is 30 days, after which non-flagged reads are deleted. Agencies and state law can change that, and flagged reads are kept longer.2 min
- Does Flock share data with ICE?Flock has no ICE contract and federal sharing is off by default, yet audits keep finding ICE searches run by local police. How that happens, and where it's illegal.4 min
- Who owns the Flock camera on my street?Flock Safety owns the hardware, but a police department, sheriff, HOA or store runs each camera and controls its data. Here's how to tell which one.4 min
Laws and news
Where plate readers are legal, the state laws that limit them, and the stories behind the headlines.
- Are Flock cameras legal?Photographing plates on public roads is legal. Searching months of that data without a warrant is now being challenged in court. Here's where the law stands.3 min
- License plate reader laws by stateRetention limits, sharing rules and 2026 changes for every state with an ALPR law, plus the executive orders in Texas, Florida and Missouri.5 min
- Which cities have cancelled Flock cameras?Austin, Los Angeles, Asheville, Tempe and more have dropped Flock. The date, the reason and a source for each, and why cameras often stay up after the vote.5 min
- Can police search Flock without a warrant?In most of the US, yes, for now. One federal judge ruled otherwise in October 2026, and four live cases could change the rule. Here's where each stands.4 min
- Are Flock cameras legal in Texas?Yes. Texas has no plate reader law, but Abbott cut state money, TxDOT froze permits and League City voted them out. What's still running, and what's next.4 min
- What is the Ban Flock Act?The Ban Flock Act would end federal use of plate readers and tie police grants to local bans. It wouldn't outlaw HOA or store cameras. Status and odds.4 min
- Are Flock cameras legal in Wisconsin?Yes, for now. Wisconsin has no plate reader law, but two lawsuits want warrants for searches and agencies keep dropping Flock. Where it stands.4 min
Take action
Check whether your plate was searched, request records, or add a missing camera.
- How to report a Flock cameraSpotted a plate reader that isn't mapped? Add it to OpenStreetMap with the right tags and every app built on the dataset improves — including this one.2 min
- How to file a public records request for Flock camera dataWhich agency to ask, the exact Flock reports to name (Organization and Network Audit), a request you can copy, and how to handle fees and denials.4 min
- How to find out if police searched your license plate on FlockBeing photographed by a Flock camera and being searched are different records. How to check each one, read the audit log, and what a blank result means.4 min
- How to find your city's Flock transparency portalWhat a Flock transparency portal shows, why most agencies don't have one, and four ways to find the one that covers the cameras on your street.4 min
Know before you pass one.
Every documented plate reader on a map, the way each one faces, and an alert on your iPhone before you drive past one. Free, with no account.
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