Flock Cameras: Should Cary and Fox River Grove Citizens Be Worried?

If you've been following the news, one of the latest concerns involves Flock cameras. Reports of these cameras being overused or used unlawfully have become increasingly common at both the local and national levels.

What are Flox Cameras?

A Flock camera is a term for Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs), solar-powered security cameras owned by Flock Safety. 

Flock camera image from Shuttershock

Flock Safety is a private security business based in Atlanta, Georgia, but they are not the only business offering this type of product and service. Companies like Axon, Vigilant Solutions, Genetec, PlatesSmart, and more provide security cameras and AI to support police departments around the country. 

These companies and the organizations that use them, whether local law enforcement or private college campuses, claim their inclusion makes communities safer. Organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have a different take.

Through campaigns like Get the Flock Out, the ACLU is educating the public about the uses and abuses of these cameras along with the massive security state they are helping to develop. According to their website,800,000 to 100,000 cameras have been installed nationwide, and less than one percent of cars scanned by these cameras are connected to a crime. 

Are Flock Cameras in Cary and Fox River Grove?

Flock cameras in Cary and Fox River Grove

It may or may not surprise citizens that these cameras are already part of the Cary and Fox River Grove community. Websites like FlockHopper show Flock cameras installed in the following areas:

• Rt 14 (two placed near the Fox River bridge)

• Crystal Lake Road (at the Fel Pro Main Entrance)

• Silver Lake Road (at Lions Park)

• Rt 14 (The Hollows)

• Cary Algonquin Rd (entrance to Fox Trails)

• Klassen Rd (at Cary Lake)

• Fox River Grove Rt 14 (Ridge Rd)

These cameras have not gone unnoticed by locals. On April 20, 2026, Town Council Member Lori Bush posted a response to concerns from the public on her unofficial Town Council Facebook page.

Bush shared the following statement from the Cary Police Department. “In Cary, you should know that the Cary Police Department does not own or store Flock cameras or data. We do agree to receive wanted vehicle alert information from privately and publicly owned Flock cameras.”

In addition to ALPR cameras, Flock Safety also offers the following services to police departments nationwide. 

• FreeForm Search - searches video and vehicle evidence and provides alerts on relevant matches using plain language like “dark SUV with rear bumper damage” or “man in camo hoodie.” 

• Hot-List Alerts - instant notifications when a license plate is tied to an Amber Alert or a stolen vehicle passes a reader

• Nationwide Network Sharing - this software lets agencies share vehicle location logs and investigative data across different jurisdictions

Cary-Grove Free Press has found the following disbursements to Flock Safety on the Village of Cary’s Treasurer Report for Fiscal Years 23 to 24 and 24 to 25.

Treasurer Report FY 24-25

Flock Safety $12,500

Treasurer Report FY 23-24

Flock Safety $21,598

What is the Public Response?

Flock cameras are not new, but recent news stories about the arrest of Holiday Hills Police Chief, Willaim Copp, and other national stories about police misuse have many concerned. Stories of Flock camera theft in Lisle, and recent Facebook reports of a smashed Flock camera on Cary/Algonquin Road may be a sign of people taking things into their own hands.

Facebook post from July 28, 2026

If you have any more information about Flock cameras, we’d love to hear it. Share any safety and privacy concerns with Cary-Grove Free Press, and we will do our best to provide detailed information in future editions.