Footage from Flock ALPRs

See for yourself the camera field of view and the impact on the privacy of vehicle drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, private property, and residents. (Note, this page is under construction)

Flock Falcon ALPR image

Motivation and background

The public’s understanding of what Flock ALPR cameras actually see has been limited. There is limited information from the vendor, limited information from most law enforcement agencies, and limited information from local officials. Many of our officials seem to be either not interested or not aware of the issues or they are just as blocked as the public is when they want to learn more about the cameras.

In Agawam, MA, we have been told over and over that Flock ALPRs take a still image of the back of a vehicle on public roadways, and that they don’t use facial recognition. But it felt like the information was incomplete and we were hearing the corporate marketing pitch that was meant to appease the masses.

People noticed that some of the Flock ALPR cameras were positioned to face traffic or face intersections. At least one camera faces a multi-family dwelling. Some of the cameras are angled in a way that is more perpendicular, instead of parallel, to the flow of traffic. News articles surfaced about Flock images being used like surveillance cameras to show that a driver was using a cell phone, or to use the Flock camera picture showing the face of a driver to determine who they are.

When questioned about these inconsistencies by a City Councilor, local officials and the Police department refused to answer the questions. Faced with limited information from Flock and local officials, and these inconsistencies, the next step was to look for answers outside of the local community.

What the public was told

  • The cameras take still images of the back of the vehicle
  • It’s a photo of the rear of the vehicle
  • A picture of the back of your car
  • Facial recognition is not being used
  • These claims are reinforced by Flock’s LPR Myths & Facts document which includes these “Facts”:
    • LPRs take a point-in-time image of the rear of vehicles on public roadways.
    • Flock does not utilize facial recognition technology.

Finding answers

We discovered and collaborated with the group DeFlock Joplin based in Joplin, Missouri. DeFlock Joplin had made a public records request earlier in 2026; the response provided 451 Flock ALPR images taken by a specific Joplin, MO, camera over a one-hour period in February 2026.

The camera associated with the records request is the Flock “Falcon” model. It is the same model installed in our community and appears to be the most-commonly-installed Flock ALPR camera model currently used across the country.

The Flock footage from Joplin, MO, helped us learn more about these cameras and answered several questions we had failed to get answers for locally. We are thankful to Deflock Joplin for providing this valuable resource to EyesOff and DeFlock advocates.

 

The Flock ALPR footage

  • Images taken by a Flock Falcon ALPR camera
  • Location: 4th and Maiden Ln., Joplin, MO (DeFlock map)
  • Footage from 5PM to 6PM local time, February 16, 2026
  • 451 unique image files
  • 7.5 pictures per minute, on average, over the one hour
  • jpg image format
  • Joplin records request N (muckrock link)
  • DeFlock Joplin Everyone Can Be Flock article

What the footage shows

Each image shows a view of the public roadway. The road is five lanes wide and the camera field of view includes all five lanes. There are two lanes in each direction plus a center turn lane. There is a side street connection on the far side of the main road.

Each image also shows the far edge of the roadway where pedestrians would walk, a side street connection, the front yards of two private properties, mailboxes at the street for each of those two houses, the driveway of one of those properties and the house, including up to the lower 1/3 of the house’s windows, on the same private property.  

What is visible in the footage, besides vehicles on the public roadway?

  • edge of the roadway where pedestrians walk
  • front/side yards of two private properties
  • mailboxes at the street for two private properties
  • a driveway on private property, including vehicles parked on it
  • a house on private property – the front and side up to the lower one-third of the first-floor windows

Footage examples

Here are some sample images from the Flock Falcon ALPR camera described above.

This is a work in progress. Stay tuned for further updates.

 

Images courtesy of DeFlock Joplin and the Missouri Sunshine Law.


Flock ALPR footage
Above: Flock Falcon ALPR footage shows the cameras capturing the fronts of vehicles. In this footage the ALPR decoded the plate of the gray Toyota approaching the camera — we added the two orange arrows to indicate the plate the ALPR decoded in the lower right and the corresponding vehicle in the picture.
Also notice that driver faces are visible; facial recognition could be applied as a post-processing step.
(Click the picture to open in a larger view.)


Above: The Flock Falcon ALPR field of view is not limited to the roadway or vehicles. This ALPR camera is snapping pictures of pedestrians — in this case a man and a child — who happen to be walking by, along with front yards, houses, and vehicles parked on private property.  


Above: The ALPR decoded the plate on the front of a vehicle approaching the camera — we added the orange arrows.
Notice the man and dog standing in the front yard of private property.

 

You may also be interested in: Infrequently Answered Questions

Contact us

contact at eyesoffma dot com