Documented Incident

Criminal procedure scholar argues Flock's network design, not just user misconduct, drives ALPR abuse

First reported: October 1, 2026 · 11 sources

In a Conversation commentary republished by Arcamax, Arizona State University criminal procedure scholar Henry F. Fradella argues that documented misuse of Flock Safety's automated license plate reader network stems from the system's architecture rather than solely from individual bad actors. He cites Washington Post reporting that identified at least 100 police department employees charged with or accused of ALPR misuse, including Braselton, Georgia Police Chief Michael Steffman, who was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in November 2025 on stalking, harassment and ALPR misuse charges and was found dead before trial. The piece also reviews unsettled case law, including two Norfolk, Virginia rulings and the Supreme Court's June 2026 Chatrie decision, and proposes five safeguards. Flock has said misusers represent a tiny fraction of its more than 140,000 monthly users and that permanent audit logs help surface misconduct.

Key facts

• The Washington Post identified at least 50 officers accused of ALPR misuse, including 26 who allegedly used Flock cameras to track current or former partners or people they hoped to meet; its reporting has since grown to at least 100 department employees charged with or accused of misuse.
• Wired and 404 Media analyzed data hackers copied from one Flock camera in September 2026; about 21 days of logs covered roughly 50,200 vehicles and 1.6 million images, with software detecting people and bicycles. Flock said it lacked sufficient information to evaluate the hackers' technical claims.
• In 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection accessed more than 80,000 cameras during an undisclosed nationwide vehicle-tracking pilot, including one department's cameras without its knowledge; Danville, Illinois records showed more than 4,000 federal agency searches, and a 2026 study found 11,935 immigration-related searches in partial records from eight college police departments.
• Flock's August 2026 changes shortened recommended retention from 30 days to seven and added misuse detection and case codes, though the author notes customers may retain data longer and emergencies may bypass case codes.
• An October 2025 Virginia appeals court ruling and a January 2026 federal ruling both found no Fourth Amendment violation in Norfolk's camera network; the federal ruling is being appealed.

Sources

This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.

• The trouble with Flock cameras is the surveillance system’s architecture, not just some of its users (Arcamax, October 1, 2026)
• The trouble with Flock cameras is the surveillance system architecture , not just some of its users | Elections (northwestsignal.net, October 1, 2026)
• The trouble with Flock cameras is the surveillance system architecture , not just some of its users | News (mesabitribune.com, October 1, 2026)
• The trouble with Flock cameras is the surveillance system architecture , not just some of its users | News (bryantimes.com, October 1, 2026)
• The trouble with Flock cameras is the surveillance system architecture , not just some of its users | National (newsargus.com, October 1, 2026)
• The Trouble with Flock Cameras is the Surveillance System’s Architecture, Not Just Some of Its Users (sdvoice.info, October 1, 2026)
• The trouble with Flock cameras is the surveillance system’s architecture, not just some of its users (Tolerance Canada, October 1, 2026)
• The trouble with Flock cameras is the surveillance system’s architecture, not just some of its users (Cobb Courier, October 1, 2026)
• The trouble with Flock cameras is the surveillance system’s architecture, not just some of its users (The Conversation, October 1, 2026)
• The trouble with Flock cameras is the surveillance system architecture , not just some of its users | National (averyjournal.com, October 1, 2026)
• Flock cameras have an architecture problem, not just bad users (Fast Company, October 4, 2026)

About this record

BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.

Updated October 4, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.