--- title: "So Many People Are Smashing Flock’s Cameras That It’s Disguising Them Inside Other Objects" description: "Flock Safety has such a massive public relations problem that local cops are starting to hide them in roadside objects." date: "2026-07-24" modified: "2026-07-24" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/flock-cameras-alprs-hidden-covert-surveillance" categories: - "Future Society" - "Privacy" --- # So Many People Are Smashing Flock’s Cameras That It’s Disguising Them Inside Other Objects ![A composite photo illustration comically showing a Flock camera in the foreground and a man holding a baseball back in the background.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: commercepros / Shutterstock* On Wednesday, an a pro-privacy account called "Orwell Day" [shared a video]() on X-formerly-Twitter of a man discovering a Flock license plate reader embedded inside an otherwise innocent roadside speedometer. Operated by the local Sheriff's department, the device was cleverly hidden to be undetectable to approaching road and pedestrian traffic. "What lurks on the back of it?" the man behind the camera asks as he approaches the device. "Look at that. Someone did some custom metal fabricating and decided to put a Flock camera, a mobile one, anywhere they want to put it, in the speedometer." https://twitter.com/OrwellDay/status/2079969721458541042?s=20 That particular unit is operated by police in Volusia County, Florida, encompassing the suburbs north of Orlando. However, it's not unthinkable that the practice might spread to other locales as the public backlash against ALPRs grows — and it's growing fast. So far, the privacy advocates behind the website [DeFlock.org note]() that 53 US cities have ended their previous ALPR contracts with Flock. (Some municipalities are turning to alternative ALPR providers like Axon.) In cities where local leaders aren't ready to cut the cord, however, citizens are taking matters into their own hands, [sawing down]() Flock towers, [sabotaging]() their solar charging panels, or [paint bombing]() the camera's sensors. While that kind of direct action has forced some municipalities to reconsider their Flock contracts, others are doubling down. Now, it seems some towns are getting crafty, secreting the now-infamous surveillance devices in roadside objects to throw saboteurs off their trail. It's not without precedent. In 2025, the [*Associated Press* reported]() that US Border Patrol officers were hiding ALPRs and other surveillance devices inside traffic barrels, allowing them to monitor thousands of drivers throughout the US for "suspicious travel patterns." As the *AP* reported at the time, the program encompassed states like Arizona, Texas, and Michigan. In many cases, hidden cameras were discovered in locations that were hundreds of miles away from the nearest border. At the moment, the full scope of covert ALPRs in the US remains to be uncovered. But with over [95,000 of the spy gadgets]() and counting deployed across the country, the number of hidden cameras is surely much higher than the public is currently aware. **More on Flock:** *[LAPD Abandons Flock Contract After Making a Horrifying Discovery]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()