What Flock cameras really see – and how

Where I live, there are 23. In Los Angeles, at least 992. In your city, there might be zero, ten, or more than a hundred. And they keep putting up more of them. These are Flock cameras—automatic license plate readers stationed across the country in cities, towns, small communities, and crossroads. As investigative reporter Joseph Cox of 404 Media explains, these cameras don't just track license plates. They constantly scan the license plate, brand, color, and model of every vehicle that drives past, then make that data available to law enforcement to search without a warrant.

Inside the camera: what gets captured

When a vehicle drives past a Flock camera, it detects the vehicle and takes a rapid series of images—typically around 28 per vehicle, but sometimes up to 100, to ensure at least one usable shot. The camera then isolates key features: primarily the license plate, which it draws a rectangle around, but also other potentially interesting elements like bumper stickers or flags. All these images are saved and sent to Flock's servers for processing, essentially instantaneously.