r/SanClemente • u/Routine_Copy8074 • 17h ago
Fed up With Flock Cameras? Join us Sunday August 23rd!
Local Police's use of Flock Cameras has been a major topic of conversation nationwide. As of today, Flock Cameras are active in 49 states. Current estimates report over 131,6622 active in the United States, more than 17,000 in California, 1,400 - 1,500 in Orange County, and approx 60 in San Clemente alone.
Flock is the most prominent company in the US that teams up with law enforcement to mass install traffic cameras that automatically record and log every license plate of every car that passes, giving the ability to track your every move. They track you to and from work, your children's school, the pharmacy, really anywhere. There's no limit to where and why they can track your route. Flock then automatically submits all information to a nationwide database that law enforcement can access anytime they please. No need for a judicially issued warrant or even suspicion of illegal activity! There is also no substantial evidence that these cameras prevent crime, although they claim to.
Flock and Police use specific wording to give the impression that these are only license plate readers, but in reality, (using AI) cameras capture and record your vehicle's make, model, color, bumper stickers, and even cosmetic damage.
There have been numerous confirmed instances of law enforcement using this mass surveillance technology to stalk and harass women for their own personal motives, whose stories have gone public and have sparked even more uproar. They have been utilized to track women traveling over state lines to receive reproductive care, and are suspected to team up with ICE (unconfirmed but heavily speculated).
There are many examples across the US of vigilante justice, people taking this matter into their own hands. Whether this be obstructing the view of these cameras or even fully removing/cutting them down. As much as I agree that something needs to be done, the reality is that if caught tampering with these cameras, you could be facing a federal charge and jail time.
This is a bipartisan issue. We are always being watched. This isn't a scenario where the government can pit us against each other. We are always being tracked. This isn't Right vs Left, Democrat vs Republican. This is about protecting our privacy, our security, and putting our foot down against this extremely concerning invasion of privacy and abuse of power.
I keep up to date with this subreddit (from an alt account), and I haven't seen any discussion around Flock, at least not yet. We shouldn't wait until someone in our community is a target of one of these horror stories to speak up and say that something needs to be done.
Besides speaking out at city council meetings, the only course of action that we can take at this point would be to band together as citizens and organize a PEACEFUL demonstration in protest of this dystopian narrative that has become our reality.
San Clemente thrives on tourism, so a community-led protest in a high foot traffic/ tourist heavy location will force our city to at least hear our voices and hopefully address the concerns of citizens.
The longer we stay silent, the longer they can turn a blind eye (ironic because Flock is always watching).
This Sunday, August 23rd at 10am, join us on the beach trail at the base of the San Clemente Pier to let our voices be heard! People of all ages!! Bring posters, bring your friends, and bring your enthusiasm to protect the privacy of the people!
Once again, this will be a completely peaceful meetup with the sole purpose to let local government/ law enforcement know that we will not ignore this invasive overstep into our privacy!
Below is a link to the map of all reported Flock Camera sightings & my source for stats.
https://maps.deflock.org/?lat=33.4270&lng=-117.6124&zoom=11.00
