Deflock

University City, MO

Learn how Flock cameras pose a risk to you and our community, and why they should be removed from University City, MO.

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What Are Flock Cameras?

Flock cameras may promise public safety, but in reality pose serious risks to you and everyone in our community, especially our immigrant neighbors who could be targeted by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).

These ALPR (Automatic License Plate Reader) cameras collect data on every vehicle passing through U City, creating detailed location histories that can easily fall into the wrong hands.

One of the leading concerns is the way ICE has been able to access to this data through partnerships with local police departments. With a growing list of neighboring communities working with ICE –– including Hillsdale, Breckenridge Hills, and Woodson Terrace –– University City residents are increasingly at risk of being targeted.

When ICE obtains location data from Flock cameras, they can:

  • Track visits to schools, churches, and community centers

  • Create patterns of movement that lead to raids at workplaces, schools, or neighborhoods

This network of surveillance creates a climate of fear that prevents neighbors from accessing essential services, isolates families, and makes our entire community less safe.

University City deserves actual investments in our safety, not surveillance tools that endanger our most vulnerable residents. The risk of ICE access means these cameras threaten the well-being of everyone who calls our community home.

Flock cameras are sold as public safety tools for police but in reality function as invasive surveillance systems that collect massive amounts of data on you and your neighbors.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Flock cameras are automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) that capture and store photos of every license plate/vehicle passing by, along with GPS location and timestamp data.

    They were installed in University City in the name of “public safety” but they operate as 24/7 surveillance on all residents and come with some serious risks.

  • Flock cameras capture every license plate that passes by in U City, as well as other details of vehicles such as make, model, and defining characteristics like color, dents, and damage. Flock then uses this information to create detailed location histories that go into their database.

    One of the dangers of mass surveillance lies in the patterns this data reveals about each person’s daily life: commute routes and work schedules, doctors' appointments, children's school drop-off and pickup times, religious services attended,and relationships revealed by who travels together.

    The way Flock cameras collect data and share it across a national database raises serious questions about their risks to our Fourth Amendment right to privacy.

  • Nope! While Flock makes bold claims about their ability to reduce crime, experts have been quick to point out that it’s not that simple.

    In fact, Flock cameras can make communities more dangerous by transforming neighborhood safety tools into stalking devices due to critical security flaws that allow unauthorized access to video footage, effectively creating a "Netflix for stalkers.”. Journalists have also demonstrated how easy it is to hack Flock’s cameras due to these security flaws in their system.

    If University City is serious about making our community safer, we should move away from cameras that can be abused by ICE and other malicious actors and instead invest in proven community-based safety programs that build trust and empower residents rather than surveillance technologies that create fear and divide our community.

  • Flock cameras frequently flag the wrong vehicle and create dangerous sitations for community residents.

    These systems have repeatedly misread license plates, leading to terrifying encounters with police:

    • Brandon Upchurch was attacked by a police dog and had his head rammed into the ground after a Flock camera misread a "7" as a "2" on his license plate, falsely accusing him of driving a stolen vehicle.

    • A Colorado family with a 6-year-old child was awarded $1.9 million after they were forced to lie face down on hot pavement at gunpoint when Flock cameras mistakenly flagged their car as stolen.

    • In February 2026, an Arkansas family was stopped at gunpoint after Flock misread their license plate number.

    These aren't isolated incidents. They're part of a pattern where people are harmed by technological errors.

  • Every time a license plate is captured, it is automatically uploaded to Flock's cloud database, which can be accessed by other police departments outside of U City.

    ICE has been able to access this data through partnerships with local law enforcement, allowing them to track residents' they wish to kidnap. Many neighboring communities––including Hillsdale, Breckenridge Hills, Woodson Terrace, and a growing list of others–– have signed agreements with ICE and also have access to Flock’s database, meaning that U City does not need to collaborate with ICE for them to gain access to this data.

  • Yes! Recently terminated contracts have included:

    • Dutchtown Community Improvement District, STL, MO - Terminated 8-camera contract over ICE data-sharing concerns

    • Evanston, IL - Shut down all 19 cameras after state audit found illegal data sharing

    • Austin, TX - Let contract expire after scanning 113 million plates, citing privacy concerns

    • Richmond, VA - Cut off data sharing after discovering unauthorized immigration searches

    We wish for U City to be the next to terminate our contract with Flock, so we can keep our city safer rather than surveilled.

  • There are a few places you can start!

Flock Cameras create risk, not public safety

Benn Jordan and 404 Media examine how Flock cameras allow public access to real-time and archived video feeds.