EVERYTHING
WE HOLD.
Wide coverage and careful sourcing pull against each other. Rather than pick one, this archive shows all three kinds of thing it holds and labels every row with which it is. The reports desk remains the part that has been read closely and written up; nothing here quietly borrows that standard.
- Reported
- Read closely and written up in full on this site, with the outcome stated and the source cited.
- Logged
- A person opened the source and confirmed the headline, date, publisher and outcome, then wrote one sentence. Not analysed or cross-checked.
- Wire
- Collected automatically from an allowlist of newsrooms. Nobody has read it. Headlines link out to the publisher.
Showing 19 of 19. Wire still loading.
Flock's surveillance cameras may finally have a weak point: the poles holding them up
Gizmodo reports on a Flock camera in Greene County, Ohio mounted on a pole roughly two feet from the edge of a rural two-lane road, against Ohio Department of Transportation guidance of eight feet, with no breakaway plate and nothing visible to show it had been inspected. Asked about it, Flock said it would review pole installations across its entire network. That statement matters more than the single pole: it is the company accepting, in its own words, that its installed base may not meet the standards it is supposed to.
Gizmodo / Greene County, OhioKnox County Flock license plate readers install paused amid ongoing concerns, sheriff says (opens WSMV in a new tab)
The sheriff paused installation of remaining cameras while keeping about 270 existing devices running, after the county mayor said the cameras have no place in Knox County.
WSMV / Knox County, Tennessee'This is really the wild west': Flock replaces 16 camera poles as questions continue about roadside safety, installation standards
WKRN reports that Flock Safety replaced 16 camera poles in Tennessee after roadside safety advocate Steve Eimers documented installations he judged to be sited dangerously, including poles set too close to guardrails where they would worsen a crash rather than yield. Eimers, whose 17-year-old daughter Hannah died in a guardrail crash a decade ago, has audited roadside hardware since. His assessment of what he found: "this is really the wild west." The Tennessee Department of Transportation said it was gathering information on permit requirements, on identifying improperly permitted installations, and on crashworthiness standards for the poles.
WKRN Nashville / TennesseeCosta Mesa will keep Flock Safety cameras, renegotiate terms of city's contract
The Los Angeles Times reports that Costa Mesa voted to continue its Flock Safety agreement while seeking renegotiated contract terms. Residents had pressed the council over the programme after an earlier misuse case, and the council's answer was to stay with the vendor and rework the deal rather than end it.
Los Angeles Times / Costa Mesa, CaliforniaFlock 'Objects to Our Removing Their Equipment': Emails Reveal Why a Town Put Bags Over Its Flock Cameras
404 Media reports on Verona officials covering their cameras with bags while navigating contract cancellation and the question of who may physically remove the equipment. The cameras were taken out of service without being taken down, which is exactly the gap between a cancelled contract and a removed camera.
404 Media / Verona, WisconsinThe Guardrail Guy raises concern over crash safety of some Flock cameras
WDBJ7 reports road-safety advocate Steve Eimers arguing that many Flock camera poles are installed without breakaway technology, the standard feature that lets a roadside sign support collapse when a vehicle strikes it. Eimers says the poles are set directly into the ground with no mechanism to yield on impact, and that they have not been through third-party crash testing: "every year, dozens upon dozens of people are killed in crashes with non-crash-worthy posts." The report notes that the Virginia Department of Transportation does not inspect Flock cameras installed on city or county roads.
WDBJ7 / Knoxville, TennesseeFlock Safety removes its license plate readers, finalizing eight-month breakup with City of Syracuse
Central Current reports that Flock Safety removed its license plate readers from Syracuse, finalising an eight-month separation between the company and the city. This is one of the few entries where the hardware is confirmed gone rather than merely voted against.
Central Current / Syracuse, New YorkFormer Milwaukee police officer sentenced for misusing Flock camera system
A former Milwaukee police officer was sentenced to a year of probation for using the department's Flock licence plate reader system to track a romantic partner 124 times, and that partner's ex-partner 55 times. Prosecution and defence had jointly proposed a fine with no probation and no jail. Milwaukee County Judge Kristela Cervera rejected that deal and imposed probation, saying she was mortified by a victim impact statement describing the effect on the victims' physical and mental health.
WTMJ / Milwaukee, WisconsinNewport no longer pursuing a contract with Flock Safety cameras after residents voice concerns
WVXU reports that Newport stopped pursuing a Flock Safety camera contract after residents raised concerns. The police department had been running a free trial and had signalled it intended to buy cameras; public opposition changed the outcome before any purchase was made.
WVXU / Newport, KentuckyLAPD suspends use of Flock surveillance cameras over privacy issues
The Los Angeles Times reports that the LAPD suspended its use of Flock surveillance cameras over privacy issues. A suspension is not a cancellation: the department stopped using the system while the underlying questions were unresolved, which is why this sits as a partial win rather than a win.
Los Angeles Times / Los Angeles, CaliforniaWestland to remove Flock Safety license plate cameras after privacy concerns
ClickOnDetroit reports that Westland planned to remove Flock Safety license plate cameras following privacy concerns. The decision is documented; the removal itself is not yet independently confirmed, which is the distinction this board tries to keep visible.
ClickOnDetroit / Westland, MichiganFramingham police will not renew Flock Safety contract after months of resident opposition
Boston.com reports that Framingham police would not renew their Flock Safety contract after months of resident opposition. Sustained local pressure over an extended period, rather than a single dramatic meeting, is what ran the contract clock out.
Boston.com / Framingham, MassachusettsFlock camera contract extension rejected by Cleveland City Council committee, but debate will continue
Signal Cleveland reports that council members questioned the value and the broader promises of the surveillance system before rejecting an extension. The committee vote is a setback for the programme rather than its end: the legislation was still due to return to the full council.
Signal Cleveland / Cleveland, OhioAs Flock cameras spread across Maine, safety advocates question some roadside poles
The CBS13 I-Team reports that MaineDOT has not received a single application for a licence plate reader installation within state rights-of-way, despite Flock cameras appearing across the state. Maine standards require poles to sit at least six feet from the roadway edge unless a breakaway system is used, and the agency said any reader inside a state right-of-way would need a waiver process and an inspection to confirm it does not create a highway safety problem. Safety advocate Steve Eimers, who reviewed installations in Maine and Tennessee, said he is "finding near 100% improper installation".
WGME CBS13 I-Team / MaineBerkeley residents pack council chambers during surveillance expansion debate
The Berkeley Scanner documented residents packing the chamber in opposition; the council ultimately extended the Flock contract 5 to 4 while postponing drones and fixed cameras. A packed room and a narrow loss are both worth recording, which is why the turnout and the outcome are stated together.
The Berkeley Scanner / Berkeley, CaliforniaDayton suspends automated license plate readers after 'egregious' data sharing violations (opens WYSO in a new tab)
Dayton indefinitely suspended its fixed readers pending independent review after an internal review found 7,100 search requests citing immigration-related purposes and safeguards that were never implemented.
WYSO / Dayton, OhioMountain View suspends license plate readers after agencies accessed data without consent (opens ABC7 Bay Area in a new tab)
The police chief suspended the system saying he no longer had confidence in the vendor, after an audit found federal agencies had reached the data through a nationwide search setting enabled without permission.
ABC7 Bay Area / Mountain View, CaliforniaHundreds of police departments use camera company accused of breaking state law
Capitol News Illinois reports that Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias accused Flock of violating a 2023 Illinois law barring licence plate reader operators from sharing data to enforce immigration or abortion-related laws, by allowing US Customs and Border Protection access to Illinois data through a pilot programme. Flock's chief executive acknowledged the company had "clearly communicated poorly" and had not built adequate compliance safeguards, saying it had not created distinct permissions and protocols for federal users. The company paused its federal pilot programmes.
Capitol News Illinois / IllinoisLicence plate surveillance startup broke the law while trying to reduce crime
Reporting on company correspondence originally obtained by Forbes found that Flock had installed cameras on state infrastructure without the permits required by law. In South Carolina alone more than 200 unpermitted cameras were identified from spring 2022. Installing devices on state infrastructure without prior transport-department approval is a crime in Florida, Illinois and South Carolina. In July 2023 South Carolina's transport agency imposed a moratorium on new installations and ordered a safety and compliance review of every Flock camera in the state.
Jalopnik / South Carolina