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All eyes are on Flock—and Flock’s got eyes on everyone.
Flashback to the Super Bowl: Home security camera company Ring unveiled an ad depicting a lost dog, found by his family via their popular doorbell cameras and AI identification. The ad—in partnership with surveillance company Flock—was framed as a heartwarming tale, but instead, the takeaway for many Americans felt more 1984.
The backlash was so immense that soon after, Ring and Flock canceled their agreement to combine the two surveillance systems. But, alas, the 2017-launched Flock cameras were already popping up everywhere, surveying streets and suburbs across the U.S.—including Raleigh.
Flock maintains its cameras are intended solely for public safety. According to the company, its surveillance system helped locate more than 10K missing people in 2025 alone and has aided 1M+ investigations. With the promise of keeping streets safer, jurisdictions have been buying in.
Here in Oak City, RPD began a partnership with Flock in March 2022, according to RPD Chief Rico Boyce. Today, 417 users have access to the 29 cameras* and database, with captured data retained for 30 days, he says. Boyce also firmly states that former city employees have no access to the system, and RPD does not share Flock data with ICE.
While Flock and partnering cities emphasize safety, the public is not having it. A Florida man recently made headlines for blocking a neighborhood Flock cam with a pool skimmer. Asheville City Council canceled its Flock partnership entirely after concerns from both residents and council members. Three teenagers in SC were arrested for vandalizing cameras. Texas barred state agencies from funding the cameras, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis even called the system “out of control.”
If safety is the ultimate goal, why isn’t the public on board? For starters, Americans generally aren’t wild about being watched (we see you, Fourth Amendment). Then there are mounting reports of misuse by people with access to the network—not to mention questions about cameras appearing in places that clearly aren’t roadways.
Dozens of police officers across the nation (including NC) have been charged or accused of using Flock cameras to stalk or harass individuals and exes. Georgia residents found out Flock had been using livestreams of a local children’s gymnastics room as part of a sales pitch, and in Texas, residents raised concerns about a camera pointed directly at a public swimming pool.
The evident scope of disdain is a rarity: The outcry reaches across the political spectrum. Officials have begun to probe investigations into Flock—with Congressional Republicans stating they “never authorized the system [the] industry has built.”
Locally, Boyce maintains RPD’s cameras only capture vehicle models and tag numbers. But RPD’s 29 cameras represent only a portion of the 120+ Raleigh cameras* that appear on DeFlock’s crowdsourced map, many of them privately owned—and it’s not clear who can access their data.
As Flock’s surveillance network keeps expanding, the question remains: How much privacy should we sacrifice for safety—and who gets to decide? The answer may be up to those on the other side of the camera.
*As of press time
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