Flock cameras have intruded into the town of Monroe, whether you want it or not. These cameras, owned by Flock Safety, use artificial intelligence to track license plates and capture photos of passing cars. Local police departments, such as the Monroe Police Department, can rent the hardware owned by Flock Safety, placing the cameras where they would work best.
Flock Safety and other Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) use cameras to capture and analyze images of all vehicles that pass by. This enters your car’s make, model, color and other identifying features into the Flock database.
ALPRs, unlike speed or red light cameras, do not issue tickets. Police departments use the information captured to track whether the driver of the vehicle is suspected of a crime. This creates a legal loophole allowing police to track civilians without a warrant, which would be necessary with other ways of tracking criminals, such as using cell phone location data.
Law enforcement officers use ALPR cameras to locate missing cars and people, or to locate vehicles that are connected to crimes. ALPR cameras also take photos of every vehicle that passes by, unlike speed or red light cameras, which only capture photos of vehicles that are violating the law.
“When it comes to the Fourth Amendment, there are exceptions. Flock cameras do not really hit one of those exceptions.” Said Masuk political science teacher Greg Parkhurst.
The Fourth Amendment protects United States citizens from unreasonable searches. Many argue that ALPR cameras violate that right, which is guaranteed in the Constitution.
“Flock cameras, in theory, target every single person,” Parkhurst said. “There is this presence of fairness, because it targets everybody. There is also this idea of, if you are not doing anything wrong, what do you fear?”
“The government already knows where you are. But the idea is, do we want to keep going that direction with the use of AI? Or do people have the right to privacy from the police?” Parkhurst said.
According to DeFlock.org, a website that tracks and manages the location of all ALPRs, including cameras owned and operated by Flock Safety, estimated that there were 52,538 cameras in use at the start of 2026. By Sep. 14, 2026, the number of ALPRs increased to a staggering 140,678.
The rise of ALPR cameras across Monroe and the rest of the United States is certainly a topic of debate, because while the cameras protect our streets, they also keep constant surveillance on citizens.
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