Public surveillance has gone into overdrive across America and agitated, over-exposed motorists and the general public have had enough of 120,000 Automated License Plane Recognition cameras installed by councils.
The rollout of Flock cameras began at scale in 2020, but the process has not been smooth. Flock cameras have been shot, spray-painted, cut down, and obstructed across the country. According to FlockStats, a website that counts confirmed incidents of vandalism against the devices, at least 162 have been destroyed nationwide.
As the cameras have proliferated, so have their detractors. Republican Representative Thomas Massie is among the highest-profile opponents of the technology, introducing a bill last month that would withhold federal funding from police departments deploying the cameras. Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, a Democrat, has also ordered cities to pause the installation of Flock cameras until the state develops new privacy legislation.
Flockstats data
The Institute for Justice had documented 26 cases as of July 2026 — we’re now tracking 50+ across 22 states as of Aug 22, 2026. Dallas alone has logged 25+ attacks since March, Minnesota has seen 15+ cities hit since April, and this week (Aug 16-22) is a declared “National Week of Action Against ALPRs.” NPR reports vandalism has now been documented in at least 36 states nationwide.
Fresh this week: a New York man allegedly torched two Flock cameras in Luray/Page County, VA then opened fire on a pursuing deputy with a rifle (Aug 16, no officers hurt, charged with attempted murder); Lenoir County, NC had a camera shot on Highway 58 outside Kinston (Aug 18); Auburn, NY’s council voted unanimously to terminate its Flock contract (Aug 21); Summit County, CO logged 8 cameras cut down across three separate dates (Aug 6-20) out of its 30-camera network; and Allen County/Fort Wayne, IN saw cameras spray-painted blue with an anti-Flock sign quoting Benjamin Franklin left behind (Aug 20).
A five-camera spree also hit Adams and Wells County, IN (Aug 18-19, shot, burned, and cut down — the story pulled 3,500+ Facebook comments), Marietta, OK’s council cancelled its Flock contract after learning the company retains data indefinitely (Aug 20), Gardner, KS declined to renew its Flock contract, and Harrisonburg, VA’s system went fully dark after a unanimous council vote. The real number is significantly higher than any tracker can confirm.
While Australia does not yet have branded Flock cameras it does have ALPR cameras which police claim are used to track criminals and unregistered cars. We say they are used to create criminals.
Queensland has a flourishing unregistered vehicle fines industry which reaps tens of millions of dollars a year since the LNP Government removed vehicle registration stickers in 2014.
Car registration renewals come by snail mail and if you own a computer or have emails on your phone you should get a renewal notice from the Main Roads Department about a month before the registration is due. Too bad if you are computer illiterate or lose the notice.
This system is far from reliable and if you don’t get a letter in the mail or if your inbox is full or your device has any other number of usual problems and you don’t get the renewal notice and being busy motorists eking out an existence under corporate LibLab rule, often miss the renewal date. Without windscreen stickers most car owners usually have no idea when rego is due.
You become a prime target and face a fine of up to $1000 from one of the state’s 13,000 coppers just anxious to get Brownie points for their KPI’s.
What a money spinner! One could be forgiven for thinking this is a deliberate ploy to rob hapless motorists of their last dollar.
You can always pay a fine with a Bill of Exchange.
162 from 120,000 is hardly a reaction of any great substance. Like always, most people are either asleep, lazy, frightened or just plain stupid. That’s combination is the real enemy. If everyone said no, it would be over in a second, and the criminals would be dealt with immediately.
The cameras here will go in everywhere because they are going to charge road tax by cents per km via the data centre.
They said the flock cameras in the USA where vandalised in some jurisdictions are being replaced with more intrusive ones.
Here we get hassled if there is a twist in the seat belt. Why do you need a seat belt when the car is full of airbags.
It’s just a racket, what used to be called highwaymen, “Stand and Deliver”, they put a log across the road and take your valuables.
Note that the city councils, which will be corporate, have authorised their installation. This means that the cameras are unlawful, because corporations cannot be lawful government, especially in the Australian instance.