Ithaca acts as a safe haven for immigrants, women and members of the LGBTQ+ community, among others. The potential misuse of Flock Safety’s surveillance technology and data collection in Ithaca is a complete endangerment to that, and the use of Flock cameras should be staunchly criticized and ultimately put to an end.
Flock Safety is a massive surveillance corporation founded in 2017 and the largest provider of automatic license plate readers in the country. Its cameras include artificial intelligence-powered automated license plate readers that scan billions of license plates per month, regardless of whether any crime has been committed or an investigation is open. These surveillance systems are used by law informants, neighborhoods and businesses.
In 2023, the City of Ithaca and Tompkins County collaborated in the installation of these after the Ithaca Common Council approved the budget. There are 22 cameras installed throughout the city. In the Common Council’s agenda meeting for March 4, there is a resolution on the use of Flock cameras. If passed, it would stop the use of Flock cameras in the city. This editorial was written before the meeting took place.
A common misconception regarding mass surveillance is that only wrongdoers should be worried or concerned. This type of data collection impacts us all and inherently encroaches on our civil liberties under the garb of safety and security. There is virtually no regulation of these systems put into place that are not directly imposed by the very people with the power and access to the data collected. And just because these cameras are not being actively misused now does not mean they will not be in the future.
According to Ithaca Voice, local advocates raised concerns about the use of many Flock cameras in the community and how the system’s data could be used by federal law enforcement to target residents of Ithaca without permanent citizen status. According to 404 Media, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has utilized this data to aid in its investigations. So while ICE is not directly in a contract with Flock, it sources Flock’s data through the request of local law enforcement.
The Ithaca Police Department said they are being specific about the use of Flock, including how they will not cooperate with ICE because the City of Ithaca and Tompkins County are designated sanctuary jurisdictions. The IPD also states that the data cannot be used for personal use, nor can it be sold to any third parties. But who is going to the police about this?
There are many examples of the use of Flock Safety’s technology across the country that have resulted in flagrant cases of misuse already, regardless of policies put in place to minimize it. A Milwaukee Police Department officer was charged with misconduct for the misuse of Flock cameras to stalk someone he was romantically involved with. Several law enforcement agencies in Virginia violated an automatic license plate reader statute for the state. The statute that 21% percent of agencies broke was keeping the data collected by the surveillance system for more than the allotted 21 days when the data was not being used for an active case. Flock audits have also revealed the U.S. Border Patrol using backdoor access in the case of at least 10 Washington police departments that did not explicitly authorize the searches.
With surveillance at such a mass level, the only way the public can truly ensure no misuse of this technology is by the technology not being there. Ithaca should follow the same suit as at least 30 cities that have deactivated or canceled their contracts with Flock Safety since the start of 2025. As a community, we must unite together to end the use of Flock surveillance systems in Ithaca and thoughtfully scrutinize the contract the city and Tompkins County have with the corporation.
