LAPD Breaks Up With Flock Cameras, Citing Privacy Fears and Wrong License Plates
KEY POINTS
- •The LAPD ended its contract in July 2026 with Flock Safety, which operated 138 cameras since July 2023 across Los Angeles.
- •Concerns arose about privacy, ambiguous data ownership, and federal agencies, including immigration enforcement, accessing information without local consent.
- •Other cities like Mountain View and Dayton also abandoned Flock, citing violations and privacy breaches, with some removing cameras forcibly.
The LAPD dumped Flock Safety after a mere year of 138 pole-mounted cameras stalking LA's streets since July 2023, sparking privacy pandemonium. The Atlanta-based plot twist-maker running 80,000 nationwide cameras had secret federal data share deals uncovered October 2025 by the University of Washington's Center for Human Rights, including sneaky immigration agency espionage. Amid cities like Mountain View and Dayton tossing Flock to the trash (sometimes literally with trash bags), Flock's AI snuffs-out innocent drivers by confusing '7's with '2's, causing brutal police dog maulings and wrongful arrests. Even Amazon's Ring ghosted a Flock partnership post-Super Bowl ad uproar in early 2026. Now LAPD wants to chat 'clarity' as federal antisemitic voicemails knocking on Flock's door complicate the breakup.
Share the Story
(1 of 3)Congrats LAPD, you just ended a 3-year relationship with a spy network that mistakes your license plate for a bingo card and outsources your data to Uncle Sam's fan club. Next up: trusting robots with your house keys? Spoiler: bad idea.
Remember when LAPD relied on cameras that reported stolen cars because a '7' looked like a '2'? At this point, just send grandma to catch the bad guys.
Nothing like letting a secret federal data-sharing program run your city's watch party, then acting surprised when it crashes and burns. Flock Safety: the gift that keeps detaining.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 7/14/2026 | Author: Katherine Li
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