A technology company has claimed it can “end all crime in America” through the use of surveillance.
Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based hardware company, uses license plate recognition, video cameras, and audio detection to provide law enforcement and private groups with real-time visual data on crime. Flock received backlash recently for its partnership with Ring doorbell, and allegations surrounding its use of data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.) Flock has since dissolved its partnership with Ring and denied that ICE has any direct access to data.
Flock was founded in 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia by Matt Feury, Paige Todd, and CEO Garrett Langley. Its cameras and drones are currently in 6,000 communities, used by 5,000 law enforcement agencies and 1,000 tech-reliant businesses across the country. Flock is currently valued at $7.5 billion, and brought in over $300 million in recurring revenue last year.
According to Flock’s website, the company currently provides services to the federal government only in the case of National Parks, Veterans Affairs hospitals, and military bases. The federal government has significant contracts with other security companies like Allied Universal, General Dynamics, and Lockheed Martin.
However, Flock continues to incur criticism of its role in public surveillance and privacy.
One of Flock’s largest tools is its database of license plate information, a technology that tracks cars across the country through Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR). Before searching the database, officers input their purpose for searching. According to 404 Media, numerous officers across the country cited “ICE”, “Immigration,” or “ICE + ERO” (ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations). This indicates that while Flock, as it claims, does not directly give data to ICE, it is still accessible by local law enforcement.
Additionally, in May of 2025, an officer in Texas used ALPR in order to search for a woman who had self-administered an illegal abortion. The search used more than 83,000 license plate readers, including some in states like Illinois and Washington, where abortion is legal. Sheriff Adam King, of Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, has since claimed the search was for her safety and at the request of her family, says 404 Media.
With both immigration and abortion, Flock’s ubiquity in American cities presents interesting questions about the federal government’s place in criminal prosecution and surveillance.
Dr. Pamela Maddock, a History and Global Studies teacher, observes Flock’s potential to both undermine individual rights and benefit the police.
“I can see how it makes the job of the police easier,” said Maddock, “I just know individual rights tend to make the job of the police harder.”
She notes the lack of legal guidelines in cases of surveillance like Flock.
“We have protections against self-incrimination, but we don’t really have protections against being followed,” said Maddock. “The right to privacy is coming to the Constitution through cases around birth control and abortion, but none of that idea of right to privacy is being watched.”
Americans are increasingly unsteady when it comes to privacy and data collection. According to a 2023 Pew Research survey, 81 percent of Americans say they are uncomfortable with how companies use their data, and 71 percent are uncomfortable with how the government uses their data.
However, data collection will only grow with technology, says Tom Johnson, the History and Global Studies department head.
“Public surveillance is just going to get more and more common,” said Johnson. “Technology is just going to keep on advancing.”
Johnson also remarked that Flock’s goal of “[ending] all crime in America” could overlook potential damage done by the surveillance.
“It’s always a problem when you have this end goal that sounds good, but the process is going to just inherently have issues,” said Johnson.
Junior Jack Choo believes the difference between too much surveillance and necessary collection is difficult to distinguish.
“It’s a fine line,” he said.
Jack finds Flock’s statement that they will “end all crime in America” to be dystopian.
“It sounds like a sci-fi movie,” said Jack. “It feels like you’re walking around a big city with screens everywhere and there’s a dictator-leader coming up on the screen, and he’s like, ‘I’m always watching, no crime goes unseen.’ That’s what it sounds like.”
However, he believes that surveillance would be helpful in catching crime that is typically unnoticed, and would not mind limited surveillance to maximize safety.
“There’s a bunch of things that just go completely unnoticed or unreported,” he said. “I feel like if they surveil me walking to class or going to dinner, I’d feel comfortable, if that were protecting me.”