Flock Safety is a public safety technology company used by police departments, private properties, commercial properties, and cities. Activists and Mayor Karen Bass are drawing attention to the company’s use of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) and vehicle-tracking camera hardware to law enforcement officials and private communities.
Recently, activists from organizations and coalitions such as Stop LAPD Spying Coalition and Boycott Home Depot have come together to organize and inform South Los Angeles residents and community members.
Stationary, solar/electric-powered cameras capture static images of cars, read license plates, and log specific vehicle characteristics such as a car’s model, make, and color. Activist and privacy groups have said that Flock Safety puts people at risk as the company has built unregulated nationwide surveillance since it began in 2017. Concerns have been raised not only about the tracking of vehicles but also about the use of face recognition for ICE agents and police officials to racially profile people.
Hamid Kahn, co-founder and lead coordinator of the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, said: “Flock Safety shares information with ICE and Customs and Border Patrol—they actually have a portal in their system—and it has led to mass deportation of people as a result of the information they’re sharing with the federal government.”
He continued, “These systems become a license to racially profile in partnership with law enforcement, where there is already a presumption of guilt about Black and Brown people just by their existence.”
Flock Safety has publicly stated that its cameras do not use facial recognition, do not identify drivers or passengers, and do not provide real-time streaming video feeds. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s producer Fraser Jones, some police officers have been found to use Flock Safety data to track their exes, track down specific people who flee to sanctuary cities in fear of ICE officials, and officers also use data to track down women who have crossed state lines to get abortions in Texas.
Fraser spoke with a Flock Safety Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Josh Thomas, who said in an interview that the specific tracking alleged isn’t done in states that do not allow it. He said Flock Safety trusts law enforcement to “do the right thing” regarding their use of the company’s safety tools.
Khan further added, “The real-world harm is that your movements are constantly being traced, tracked, and monitored, and all of that data is being uploaded into databases, and people’s profiles are being created.”
“Over the years, this sort of data‑driven digital Jim Crow has been created, and data‑driven profiling is happening—particularly in Black and Brown neighborhoods that are extremely targeted,” said Khan. The Stop LAPD Spying Coalition has played a major role in bringing awareness to– what some critics suggest– Flock Safety’s hyper-surveillance
Khan continued. “Flock is in about 45 states with over 100,000 cameras across the U.S., scanning 20 to 25 billion plates every month—and that number is already dated. It’s definitely more now.”
“LAPD reported about 1.35 billion license plate scans in one year—just in 2024, just in the city of Los Angeles. When you do the math, every car in L.A. is being scanned 450 to 500 times a year,” he said.
The CEO of Flock Safety, Garrett Langley, said, “[It] expands far beyond ICE. No one should use Flock without criminal intent. That’s explicit with our customers; there’s an attestation that as soon as you log in, in a state like California: This technology cannot be used for immigration enforcement. And it cannot be used for non-criminal offenses. If it is, then it would be a violation of our contracts with our customers,” said Langley in a CBS News interview on Aug. 14.
In July, Mayor Karen Bass spoke in a statement provided to the Los Angeles Times about the potential harms that Flock Safety and its cameras pose to people who are vulnerable to being targeted by ICE.
Three years ago, the LAPD began a three-year contract with Flock Safety. Under that agreement, almost 138 pole-mounted cameras were placed across the city to track suspects who steal cars, according to reports.
LAPD did not renew with Flock Safety after it expired in July. As of now, the department has stopped using Flock Safety’s tools and system. LAPD officials are currently attempting to negotiate a new contract with new proposed conditions that include limiting Flock from sharing data with third parties, ensuring the City of Los Angeles maintains control of all data, and requiring a report of any security breaches.
