Flock Camera Map: How to Find Flock Cameras Near You in 2026

How to Find Flock Cameras Near You

To find Flock cameras near you, check the crowdsourced DeFlock map, look for your local police department's Flock Transparency Portal, and file a public-records request for camera locations and audit logs. In the guides we publish here, finding where automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras operate starts with these specific methods rather than relying on vendor claims.

Flock says its network logs more than 20 billion reads a month across 49 states; none of the sources here include a Flock-published map of camera locations. Finding cameras in your community takes four steps:

1. Check the crowdsourced DeFlock map: Visit deflock.me to search for documented camera locations in your area, or review plate-reader tags on OpenStreetMap.
2. Search for your agency's portal at transparency.flocksafety.com/<agency>: Portals can show usage policy, audit information and which agencies have access.
3. File a public-records request: Submit a request under your state's public-records law to your local police department or sheriff's office for camera contracts, installation locations, and audit logs.
4. Spot them yourself: Look for physical hardware on local utility and light poles matching the equipment descriptions published by Flock and municipal agencies.

The DeFlock Map: Open-Source ALPR Tracking

DeFlock is an open-source, crowdsourced map of automated license plate reader cameras built on OpenStreetMap by Will Freeman. Users add camera locations and the direction they face. In November 2024, DeFlock listed more than 1,700 United States cameras, as reported by 404 Media. An August 2026 count of OpenStreetMap plate-reader tags found 127,878 in the United States, according to State of Surveillance.

To add a camera, users record its location and the direction it faces.

The primary limit of the DeFlock map is that crowdsourced counts are incomplete. The map only shows cameras users have added, so an empty area does not mean there are no cameras. Treat crowdsourced counts as incomplete, and combine map checks with official public-records requests.

Flock Transparency Portals: Agency Disclosures

Many law enforcement agencies publish an official Flock Transparency Portal that provides public disclosures about their automated license plate reader operations. The standard URL pattern for these sites is transparency.flocksafety.com/<agency>. Portals can show usage policy, audit information and which agencies have access.

For example, the Kent County Sheriff's Office in Michigan operates a public portal at transparency.flocksafety.com/kent-county-mi-so. According to Kent County's Flock transparency page, the county's deployment covers 62 cameras, expanded from a 20-camera pilot started in 2022. The page explains that the system captures still images of the vehicle's rear and plate, alongside date, time, and location.

Kent County says the system does not provide live video, audio recording, facial recognition, or continuous GPS tracking. Kent County also says images are kept for 30 days unless lawfully preserved. However, not every agency that buys Flock hardware publishes a portal. If your local police department does not maintain a portal link, you must look to public meeting records or public-records requests to confirm whether cameras are deployed.

Public-Records Requests for Locations and Audit Logs

Filing a public-records request with your municipal police department or county sheriff is the most formal way to identify camera placements and system use. You can ask for camera locations, contracts and audit logs.

According to Have I Been Flocked, following a clear step-by-step process helps when seeking records from an agency:

1. Identify the agency using Flock: Determine whether the municipal police, county sheriff, or a regional task force signed the contract.
2. Find its public-records process: Locate the agency's records request form, public portal, or records clerk contact details.
3. Request audit logs with specific language: Ask for the agency's Flock audit logs.
4. Expect a reply in about 2 to 5 weeks: Have I Been Flocked says to expect a reply in about 2 to 5 weeks, and audit logs download in 31-day increments.

Have I Been Flocked explains three audit-log types:

• Organization
• Network
• Portal/public

Whether an agency must release camera locations depends on your state's public-records law and the agency. News reports on city contracts show what some cities pay. For example, Lynchburg, Virginia pays about $3,000 a year per camera, with an amended contract carrying a $500 early-termination charge per device removed, as reported by WSET. In Cortland, Ohio, WFMJ showed 10 cameras at $3,000 per camera before the city announced on September 2, 2026 that it would not renew, citing a lack of funding.

Checking Whether Your Plate Was Searched

Residents who want to know if their vehicles have been queried in automated license plate reader systems can use external audit tools. Have I Been Flocked offers a plate lookup against public audit records and explains how to request audit logs from an agency.

Audit records obtained through public records have uncovered broad search practices across law enforcement agencies. For example, public-records data reported by 404 Media in May 2025 showed more than 4,000 nationwide and statewide lookups by local and state police tied to ICE or immigration. Those searches were found through public-records data from the Danville, Illinois police department, where officers typed reasons such as immigration, ICE, and ICE WARRANT. 404 Media reported that ICE had no Flock contract and worked through local police.

Similarly, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) obtained records of more than 12 million searches logged by more than 3,900 agencies between December 2024 and October 2025. EFF found hundreds of searches tied to protests, including 50501, Hands Off, and No Kings. EFF also reported a Johnson County, Texas search connected to a woman's self-managed abortion that reached 6,809 networks and 83,345 cameras.

These audit searches can reach far beyond your home municipality. According to the ACLU in August 2026, about 75% of Flock's roughly 5,000 police customers take part in Flock's National Lookup network. To see how these systems operate more broadly, read our guide to automated license plate readers.

What Flock Cameras Look Like on the Pole

Spotting equipment on public roads helps confirm listings seen on crowdsourced maps. Flock Safety was founded in February 2018 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, according to State of Surveillance.

Flock describes its Falcon camera as solar-powered, motion-activated, infrastructure-free, connected over LTE, and working 24/7 in any weather, as stated on Flock's comparison page. Sussex County, Virginia published details on its sheriff's department Flock page describing the Falcon Flex: it weighs under 5 pounds, runs on a solar panel of 60W or less, and has what the county page calls a covert industrial design.

Hardware features reported across vendor and agency pages include:

• Power: Flock describes its Falcon camera as solar-powered and infrastructure-free, though on its comparison page Flock notes it offers both solar and AC power. A county page says the Falcon Flex runs on a solar panel of 60W or less.
• Connectivity: Flock says the Falcon connects over LTE.
• Camera focus: Flock says its cameras capture license plate, make, model, color, and other visible characteristics like bike racks, trailers, or toolboxes, and that they focus on vehicles, not people. Kent County, Michigan says its system captures still images of the vehicle's rear and plate.
• Software filters: Flock markets a patented Vehicle Fingerprint search that filters by body type, make, color, roof racks, bumper stickers, damage, and after-market changes, letting users search for a vehicle with a partial or missing plate.
• No facial recognition: Flock says: Flock cameras do not use facial recognition and they are not designed to search for people, scan faces, or track individuals. Kent County's page confirms the local system does not provide live video, audio recording, facial recognition, or continuous GPS tracking.
• Speed monitoring limits: Flock says its cameras do not currently measure vehicle speed, taking roughly 6 to 12 or so pictures of a vehicle as it passes by, as reported by Jalopnik. Flock separately sells a Speed Feedback Trailer that pairs a plate reader with check-your-speed signage, while dedicated speed cameras measure speed with radar or LiDAR.

While cities told residents these are not traffic enforcement tools, at least one ticket has cited a Flock camera. Several cities told residents their Flock cameras would not be used for traffic tickets; El Paso stated these are not traffic enforcement cameras, do not issue tickets, do not monitor speed, and do not generate revenue. In Coffee County, Georgia, the Georgia State Patrol wrote a motorcyclist a phone-in-hand ticket citing CAPTURED ON FLOCK CAMERA, though the ticket was later dismissed in court, as reported by 404 Media in March 2026. For a breakdown of functional differences, see our comparison of Flock cameras vs speed cameras.

What to Do Once You Know Where Cameras Are

Once you map cameras in your area, you can assess how data is handled and whether your city council has enacted oversight. Contract terms and local retention rules vary widely. Flock's own explainer on its blog says that by default, data automatically deletes after 7 days unless local law requires something different. Kent County, Michigan keeps images for 30 days unless lawfully preserved. The ACLU notes that Flock defaults to 7 days with a 1-year maximum, longer periods needing official approval.

Data ownership terms are defined in vendor agreements. Flock's contract terms state that all right, title, and interest in and to Customer Data belong to and are retained by Customer and Flock shall not sell Customer Data, with sharing beyond operating the service requiring the customer's written authorization, according to Flock's data ownership page.

Sharing rules have generated significant dispute. On its sharing blog, Flock says: Flock does not work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Flock does not have a contract with ICE, and ICE has no direct access unless the agencies that control their data expressly and deliberately allow it. Flock says federal sharing is off by default, and since January 2026 an agency can turn off all federal sharing with a single toggle in Admin Settings. Flock lists past federal pilots with the FBI (2021 to 2023), ATF, NCIS, HSI, and CBP, stating that in August of 2025, Flock publicly announced it would no longer conduct pilot projects with federal agencies. Flock also states federal agencies are not part of statewide or national lookup networks.

State officials have challenged vendor compliance. In August 2025, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said Flock broke a 2023 Illinois law banning the sharing of plate-reader data to enforce immigration or abortion-related laws by giving U.S. Customs and Border Protection access through a pilot, ordering access shut off as reported by NPR Illinois. Flock's CEO said "We clearly communicated poorly," paused federal pilots, and disagreed with the legal claim. Learn more about sharing practices in our guide to Flock Safety data sharing.

Residents have challenged deployments through litigation and local government votes. In Norfolk, Virginia, residents Lee Schmidt and Crystal Arrington, represented by the Institute for Justice, sued over the city's 176 Flock cameras after Schmidt's car was photographed 475 times in 4.5 months. On January 27, 2026, federal judge Mark Davis ruled for the city, writing that ALPR surveillance "could become too intrusive… at some point" but "at least in Norfolk, Virginia, the answer is: not today," as reported by WHRO; the plaintiffs said they would appeal. In Wisconsin, on September 10, 2026, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and others sued Waukesha County and 11 municipalities in Waukesha County Circuit Court, asking that police get a warrant before searching Flock data, as reported by Minnesota Lawyer. The lawsuit cites the US Supreme Court's June 2026 decision in United States v. Chatrie, which it describes as finding a Google location-data search was a Fourth Amendment search. Read more in our review of whether Flock cameras are legal and our tracker of AI lawsuits.

Several communities have ended or declined to renew Flock contracts:

• Lynnwood, Washington: The city council voted 7-0 on February 23, 2026 to cancel its Flock contract for 25 plate readers (a two-year contract worth $171,000, mostly paid by a state auto-theft grant with $38,000 from the police budget), after reporting showed out-of-state and federal agencies searched the network for immigration enforcement, as reported by The Daily Herald.
• Asheville, North Carolina: City council voted 5-2 on August 25, 2026 to terminate its contract, ordering hardware removed and data access suspended, as reported by FOX Carolina.
• Harrisonburg, Virginia: City council voted 4-0 in July 2026 to end its Flock contract, as reported by 29News.
• Other municipalities: EFF reports Austin, Evanston, and Eugene canceled or refused to renew Flock contracts.

States have also established legislative limits. In late March 2026, Washington State signed SB 6002, keeping plate-reader data for 21 days unless needed as evidence, banning use for immigration enforcement, tracking protected activity, or abortion-related investigations, and barring collection near protected health facilities, immigration facilities, schools, courts, food banks, and places of worship, as reported by The Daily Herald. Agencies must keep access logs for two years. For local organizing steps, read our guide on how to get Flock cameras removed and review strategies in fighting back.

FAQ: Flock Camera Map and Location Tracking

Is there a map of Flock cameras?

The closest thing is the crowdsourced DeFlock map (deflock.me), where users add plate-reader camera locations; many agencies also publish a Flock Transparency Portal, such as Kent County, Michigan's, which covers 62 cameras.

How do I know if my city uses Flock?

Search for your agency's portal at transparency.flocksafety.com/<agency>, check city council meeting minutes for vendor contracts, or submit a public-records request to your local police department. Flock says it has "+12,000 customers across the US."

Can I find out if my plate was scanned?

Have I Been Flocked offers a plate lookup against public audit records and explains how to request audit logs from an agency, which download in 31-day increments.

Are Flock camera locations public records?

It depends on your state's public-records law and the agency; check for the agency's Flock Transparency Portal or file a records request for installation contracts and site lists.

How accurate is the DeFlock map?

The DeFlock map is crowdsourced: users add camera locations and the direction they face, so treat it as incomplete.

External sources for further verification:

• DeFlock open-source camera map
• Kent County Sheriff's Office Flock Transparency Portal
• Have I Been Flocked audit log guide
• Sussex County Sheriff's Department Flock Safety explainer
• Kent County, Michigan Flock Transparency details
• Electronic Frontier Foundation 2025 Flock surveillance review
• ACLU analysis of ALPR vendors and networks
• State of Surveillance Flock camera overview
• Sussex County Falcon Flex documentation
• Flock Safety comparison claims vs Axon
• Flock Safety capture capabilities explainer
• Jalopnik reporting on Flock speed sensors
• 404 Media traffic ticket investigation
• Flock Safety legal data ownership terms
• Flock Safety federal agency sharing statements
• 404 Media ICE surveillance lookup investigation
• NPR Illinois reporting on Illinois ALPR law compliance
• 404 Media coverage of DeFlock open-source mapping
• WHRO reporting on Norfolk federal ALPR ruling
• Minnesota Lawyer coverage of Waukesha County lawsuit
• The Daily Herald coverage of Washington SB 6002 safeguards
• WSET reporting on Lynchburg camera contract terms
• WFMJ coverage of Cortland contract non-renewal
• The Daily Herald reporting on Lynnwood contract cancellation
• FOX Carolina coverage of Asheville contract termination
• 29News reporting on Harrisonburg contract termination
• Officer.com announcement of Axon Fleet 3 ALPR system