LAPD hits pause on Flock surveillance cameras due to ‘serious concerns around civil liberties and privacy’ — as the backlash continues to grow
Publish Date: 2026-07-14 11:31:00
Source Domain: www.techradar.com
- Three-year contract won’t be renewed, police officials claim
- Data and privacy concerns have been cited
- Flock cameras have faced a backlash from a privacy-concerned public
Officials from the Los Angeles Police Department have told the Los Angeles Times that its contract with surveillance camera company Flock will not be renewed due to “serious concerns” around privacy and the data they gather.
The cameras, which are owned by Flock and used by more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies across the US, scan and track billions of vehicle license plates every month, with the resulting data used by police departments to help make arrests and build cases.
However, there has been widespread public backlash due to privacy concerns, with some residents taking matters into their own hands. Recently, an Air Force engineer from Virginia has been accused of cutting down 13 Flock cameras over a six-month period.
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According to Military.com, privacy advocates across the country have donated more than $15,000 (about £11,220 / AU$21,660) to the accused’s legal defense.
What’s more, developers have created a free online mapping tool that allows US drivers to plot routes that actively avoid areas with a dense population of Flock cameras.
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The LAPD’s chief information officer, Dean Gialamas, told reporters that the contract was not being renewed due to “serious concerns around civil liberties and civil rights issues, particularly around privacy and the data that is being collected from these cameras.”
Gialamas added that he hoped the data, privacy, security, and sharing concerns would eventually be “ironed out through a contractual relationship.” There is currently no word on whether Flock’s cameras will continue to record and distribute data in the meantime.
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(Image credit: Getty Images / Leonardo)
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