Cops Are Using Flock to Spy on People for the Crime of Standing Around

Records from a single town in Illinois reveal more than 1,200 Flock
searches investigate cases of loitering. 

Flock Security likes to describe its national private network of cameras
and license plate scanners as a public safety boon. “I can think of no
greater mission than rescuing our children,” tweeted Flock CEO Garrett
Langley, sharing a promotional company video. “Another child rape
suspect located and arrested with help from Flock,” chief strategy
officer Rahul Sidhu posted last month. Last week, venture capital firm
and Flock investor Andreessen Horowitz put the company’s benefits in

Though Flock’s investors and executives insist its surveillance dragnet
thwarts the most serious of crimes, it turns out police are also using
the company’s technology to go after some of the pettiest possible

When police seek footage from Flock’s more than 120,000 cameras
nationwide, they select a category of crime corresponding with the
alleged offense they are investigating, such as hit-and-run or burglary.
Among the choices is the supposed crime of being suspicious in public,
formally categorized by Flock as “Curfew/Loitering/Vagrancy Violations.” 

https://theintercept.com/2026/09/09/flock-cameras-police-loitering-
curfew-surveillance/