This week the City Council will hold a Public Safety Meeting to discuss the Flock Camera System that is deployed throughout the city. It is doubtful that much will come out of the meeting. Council will most likely spend most of the time asking questions about what the system is and will never get into the nitty gritty about how the city uses the system and what controls are in place to not permit misuse and abuse of the system. Abuse like we have seen throughout the United States on various news outlets. The last thing we would want is someone using the system to track down a prostitute or drug dealer’s cash for misaligned needs…. and that has happened in the US.
To save some time, I have taken the step to educate council and all readers (I know council reads this joke of a blog, “Hey y’all! You’re welcome”)
What is the Flock system?
A Flock camera system is essentially a networked automated license plate reader (ALPR) built by Flock Safety, designed to capture vehicle data and send it to a searchable cloud database. The core idea: every passing vehicle gets photographed, its plate read, and its physical attributes logged, giving police and private clients a powerful investigative tool.
A Flock camera is a solar‑powered, LTE‑connected roadside ALPR that takes still images of vehicles, extracts the plate number and a “vehicle fingerprint,” and stores it in a cloud database searchable by law enforcement, HOAs, and businesses. Flock camera is an automated license plate reader (ALPR) made by Flock Safety. It records vehicle details like license plates, make, model, color, and unique features, storing them in a searchable cloud database used by law enforcement and private communities.
Source: What Is a Flock Camera and How Does It Work? · Finding Flock - https://www.findingflock.com/learn/what-is-a-flock-camera
What does it do?
As stated, it records YOU. But when does it start to violate your rights. A gentleman on Facebook who I will begin to cite more often cited some important facts.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DMPxH3BNP/
The city of Allentown uses the flock camera system. But what exactly do they use it for?
I would think after a shooting they use the system to track vehicles that were in the area at the time. Okay, okay, sounds like a good tool, right?
Well, the problem of what you may not realize is the police can literally track your whereabouts throughout the city. Times you traveled and how long you were there. In fact, with the use of Flock and all the 150 plus cameras throughout the city, they could literally track your every move. Seems intrusive, doesn't it? It is.
Its as creepy as the guy on the 5th floor.
How isn’t that violating your privacy rights? What’s to say when an officer wants to spy on his wife, neighbor or friends? They could. I’m sure there is an audit system, but unless it highlights key plates and names how would anyone know? Do you think assistant Chief Gress will look into any abuse? Lol
I’m all for the police using lt correctly, but the fact you can be tracked whenever you’re in the city limits concerns me.
Current Evidence of Misuse
1. Stalking romantic partners or exes
This is the largest and best‑documented category. Officers run plates of ex‑girlfriends, estranged spouses, or people they’re romantically interested in — sometimes hundreds of times.
Sedgwick, Kansas (2024) — Police chief used Flock 228 times to stalk his ex‑girlfriend and her new partner.
Indianapolis, Indiana (2026) — Officer ran searches 3,759 times over 10 months, tracking vehicles used by his wife and two acquaintances.
Multiple states (2021–2025) — At least 24 documented cases of officers using ALPRs to track romantic partners, per Institute for Justice.
2. Personal curiosity or harassment of acquaintances
Officers sometimes run plates of neighbors, coworkers, or people they have disputes with.
Stow, Massachusetts (2026) — Officer accessed Flock data at least five times to get information about someone he knew personally. He faces firing and criminal charges. But that wouldnt happen at APD. You cant get fired, just watch the news.
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana (2026) — Officer fired for “personal use” of the system.
3. High‑volume, unjustified searches
Some officers run hundreds of searches on a single vehicle with no case number, no report, and no investigative justification.
Sarasota, Florida (2026) — Officer ran 335 searches on one vehicle; arrested for official misconduct and computer crimes.
4. Departments failing to audit or detect misuse
A major theme: misuse is often discovered by victims, journalists, or activists — not by police departments themselves.
Washington Post investigation (2026) — Found at least 69 officers nationwide accused, charged, or convicted of misuse; in 15 cases, outsiders discovered the abuse before the department did.
5. Misreads leading to wrongful stops and violence
Not intentional misuse, but operational misuse: officers rely on Flock hits without verifying them, leading to dangerous encounters.
Innocent people have been stopped at gunpoint, mauled by police dogs, or jailed due to misreads or unverified alerts. I am sure Chief Roca will say they have a strict policy on misuse and if anyone is caught doing so, they will be disciplined. Yea okay. Wannabe politician.
On Wednesday, city council will hear some presentations from the APD and experts on the city’s own Flock Camera system, but I honestly don’t expect much transparency. I am sure that the administration will refer to the Right to Know and other applicable laws that apply to obtain information (useless P.O.S.), only for it to be denied due to “operational security”. Just another opportunity to waste taxpayers’ time with no response and no action.
** You can join the discussion August 26th @6:15 PM at the following link:
Allentown - Public Safety Committee
https://allentownpa.legistar.com/DepartmentDetail.aspx?ID=30365&GUID=51B62740-AE07-4294-950C-8DDAA98416A5
Remember council isnt smart, so we have to inform them because they won't do it themselves.
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28 comments:
Abe - I do not see this meeting on the city page. Was it rescheduled or canceled?
Lived in Allentown from 1966-1970 prior to moving to the Poconos. Would love to return one day; however, I'm a bit to old to be learning another language. Please let me know when we take our city back.
It was cancelled.
APD has denied me, and others RTK requests for audit information on the reasons that officers are accessing information. What APD doesn't realize is that we share our information so it is available from other avenues/municipalities, so I do have it. With all of the issues around APD officers and even convicted Marty Nothstein stalking his ex, why are we supposedly to blindly trust that these are being used in an appropriate manner? Flock does not allow any 3rd party audits. Flock cameras are Allentown's favorite solution to issues, a reactive one. Flock doesn't prevent any crimes from happening but it is a clear violation of our 4th amendment rights. SCOTUS has said in a 2018 case, just because a person goes in public, does not mean you give up all rights to privacy. Flock cameras also track bumper stickers and other identifying features on vehicles. We should all be concerned about this, and councils interest in using Sound Vue cameras (a company outside of the US) to continue to spy on us in the name of "public safety". I could go on and on and on about issues with Flock. I am disappointed that the meeting was cancelled.
Surprise surprise! Transparency in government at its best. Council isn’t ready or smart enough for the Flock conversation.
Those are all the times Flock was abused. How about all the times Flock help convict violent felons? Don’t have those statistics huh?
Let's have former FBI agent Scott Curtis return to the scene after his successful investigation of the Pawlowski Regime. He was on a roll when Tuerk the Jerk was dismissive of his prosecution results.
Voluntary donations to cover his fees would exceed six figures. Public office resignations in advance of his announced return would reduce prosecutorial fees and provide a list of witnesses in support of his investigation. Allentown could eventually return to All American City status.
J B Reilly, Joe Topper, Hashaan " F... the police" Batts, Fadia Halma, Steven Bamford, Peter Lewnes, Miriam Huertas, Rebecca Torres, Alan Jennings, Nick Miller, Ivan Watson, Christian Brown, Rev Gregory Edwards, the Jaindl Gang and a whole host of others too numerous to mention would provide interesting testiMONIE$.
You sound like an APD officer.
No shit it has done good things. Unfortunately, when technology is placed in wrong hands it is misused for nefarious reasons. That is why there is such interest right now in Flock cameras—PDs are misusing the technology and violating privacy laws by doing so.
Tell me one time Flock was misused in the Lehigh Valley.
@718 we don't know because the PD's arent forthcoming with audit trail information. No one is asking for personal identifying information like license plates. On the audit I have from another municipality, APD has searched "kissy" as a reason. Why? They've also searched "daytime search for better results" and I'm not sure how a databases information is different in the am vs pm.
See 7:28pm for your answers. Technology and data in the wrong hands. These people protect themselves and their brothers from exposure. Allentown Police department is one of the most corrupt in the State. You can search WFMZ and Morning Call for that
You must mean there theft of services as ngo public service and insider trading of real property as well as in kind gifts of remodeling and property maintenance.
Damn straight APD is corrupt. Starts at the top and only goes a little bit down. Im sure the officers are looking up stupid shit all the time.
Even if I could accept the system of surveillance by cameras that we have now (and I don’t think it’s proper), there should be a very short retention period for the data collected (I’m talking like 48 hours max).
There should also be no sharing of access with other municipalities, because you then lose the ability to control the retention period.
Finally, for police to access the system to track the movements of individuals, there should be a need to obtain a warrant.
There should also be harsh penalties with strong minimum sentences for anyone who conducts an illegal search or surveillance. Implementing both those steps would greatly cut down the chance of any abuse of searches.
Yes, I know that law enforcement loves the camera system and it makes their jobs easier. So would a dedicated government drone flying over every citizens head or forcing everyone to wear an ankle bracelet. I hope nobody would accept that, but what we have now is the equivalent of that. That needs to change.
Does anyone know what happens with the license plate data the Allentown Parking Authority sweeps up every day, or how long that information is retained?
Harsh punishments like termination should be imposed for improper use of any public safety system or technology. For example, using jnet to look up people and help friends and family or political opponents with protected information. But then again, the union will fight any termination just to have a win, regardless of the circumstances.
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Lots of good comments here. But, remember this, in today’s America public officials LIE all the time. They will sign on to any document to address shortcomings, BUT, those same officials are not above ignoring whatever it was they agreed to. There really is NO accountability. Just look at all the distasteful and illegal acts Members of the United States Congress get away with impunity.
I'd also like to encourage everyone to read the contract we have with flock.
It can be found here - https://www.allentownpa.gov/en-us/Government/Elected-Offices/City-Controller/Contracts
Search flock.
You can read what is collected and what is shared. So while APD may not share with other organizations, our data is available for OTHER municipalities to search. Also note, APD does not own any of the data! Flock does. Your license plate and car info isn't sitting on a secure server with APD, it's sitting with Flock, available to anyone else opting it. That means if you travel from Allentown to California, your location can be tracked that entire way with whatever cities have Flock. Newer cameras will also collect Bluetooth information from your phone and car. If anyone wants the audit data I have, I'll send it to whomever wants it. This is 1984 guys, big brother is watching.
Ok, the two leading outrages are data centers and flock, got it. But we need the data centers to store all of the flock data. Duh. LPR has been around for quite some time. The Boston Marathon Bombing was solved with LPR data. Hell, shortly after Allentown implemented their first LPR system and tied it in with the Parking Authority, they used the recency and frequency feature to find a lingering car at the scene and rolled up the shooter.
Can data collection be abused by the authorities? Of course. But as far as flock goes, collection of data is out in the open. You are driving on a public street funded by tax dollars and policed by a public police agency funded by you guessed it: tax dollars. That a God forbid private entity wharehouses the data is actually a judicious use of taxpayer funds.
It's super funny that the outrage comes from many people who demand that "somebody has to do something" when crime goes up. You want to help solve crimes? LPR is a great start. Most shitheads drive (as evident in Allentown) and those shitheads drive around to commit criminal activity.
You can't have it both ways. You cannot whine for someone to do something and then piss and moan when they actually follow through and do something.
You can call me a "cop" but I'm more along the lines of the person who architects the very systems that you are outraged against (that includes data centers). Next time you park in a parking authority garage or lot take notice that you have to park nose in. That is so the mobile LPR can grab your license plate in case there's a warrant for you because you did something that someone wants someone to do something about.
You have zero expectation of "privacy" when operating a motor vehicle on public roads. To think so is as big of a fairy tale as "we live in a democracy". It's a republic, if we can keep it.
I wish there were cameras everywhene except in private dwellings, but I also agree with those who say there should be harsh pennalties for those who misuse the system.
For those who say it does not prevent crime; then neither do police unless they happen to be standing within sight of you. The prevention mostly comes from the fear criminals have of being caught, which the cameras are a huge aid in doing. Does anyone remember the murder at the Fountain Park basketball court? They tracked the car from the basketball court rigtht to the killer's home. Can it be misused? Obviously. But throwing away a valuable tool for public safety instead of insisting that laws be put in place to prevent misuse of the system just doesn't make sense.
Values the first amendment but gets mad if you call someone who is a being a fucking faggot a fucking faggot and Abe goes crazy. Sorry my words hurt your feelings.
You’re an ignorant low life! You are confusing constitutional rights with a greenlight for hate, division, and bigotry. Are you really shocked when people don’t applaud your bigotry? Free speech isn’t the issue here, though you are trying to relate the two; the issue is that you chose to hate because you didn’t have anything intelligent to say.
Anon 945am. Yes I value your first amendment rights. But being an ignorant piece of shit is not something myself, and I am sure the readers of this blog want to read.
So fun fact about the first or any amendment. The Constitution restricts government infringement and this blog isn’t government run. While the government cannot infringe on your first amendment rights that doesn’t give you license to say stupid shit. If you come to my home I can absolutely define what you say and do. Same with a blog. Private citizens are wholly incapable of infringing on your rights. Someone acting in a government capacity absolutely can be held to account and is restrained by the Constitution. Your ignorance of our form of government is showcased by your absurd use of derogatory language. Abe has a great thing going and you are most likely a McPronoun fan who is here to cause trouble.
Anon@ 9:45 & 10:56 AM. Enjoy your expansive vocabularies. Where can I purchase your books?
Homo is McPronouns nue adjective as that's the way they are with all things anul and rectal.
Thanks Chief.
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