--- title: "Flock’s Network Is Losing Value to Cops as More and More of Its Cameras Go Offline" description: "A recent series of Flock contract cancellations in Wisconsin shows that the more ALPRs come down, the fewer are likely to go up." date: "2026-08-19" modified: "2026-08-19" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/flock-network-losing-value-police-alpr-wisconsin" categories: - "Future Society" - "Privacy" --- # Flock’s Network Is Losing Value to Cops as More and More of Its Cameras Go Offline ![Red and white sign informing drivers that Flock cameras are collecting license plates.]() *Shutterstock / bluestork* As [vandalism against its license plate-reading cameras]() and backlash against [civic leaders who embrace them]() grows, Flock Safety is losing its surveillance coverage at a breakneck pace. That isn't just bad news for the company's bottom line. It also means that its customers in law enforcement are able to draw on less and less data — making the company's network a less attractive line item for local governments across the country. In the town of McFarland, Wisconsin, an $18,000 contract for six Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) from Flock was [scrapped]() after the loss of 24 county-level cameras from earlier in the year, [*Ars Technica* reported](). While growing resentment from locals probably had something to do with the decision, McFarland officials cited their home county's decision to end its relationship with the surveillance company, which affected some 140 law enforcement agencies that had been hooked into the county's network. "Once Dane County \[police\] lost their funding for Flock, we lost about half of the potential camera network within Dane County," McFarland police chief Brian Redman told *Ars* in a statement. "I had to ask, 'were we still going to get the return on our investment with that loss?' With the network being chipped away, that wasn't going to be the case." In their announcement of the cancellation, McFarland officials said it came "in light of a shrinking database in Dane County and input from residents." Further cancellations across Wisconsin followed the loss of Dane County's Flock cameras, including four in the town of [Monona](), and a number in the [University of Wisconsin]() and the town of [Fitchburg](). Though there are many ALPR companies in the US, Flock's competitive advantage was the ability it offered for police to access cameras owned by other entities, like private businesses, HOAs, and other law enforcement agencies, even — and especially — across state lines. As the domino effect in Wisconsin shows, Flock's ALPRs are a much tougher sell when police can't chain them together into a [wide-reaching web]() of warrantless surveillance. In other words: it seems the more ALPRs come down, the fewer are likely to go up. **More on Flock:** *[In New Low, Flock CEO Insists His AI-Surveillance Cameras Could Have Solved the Nancy Guthrie Case]()* ## 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]()