Mounted beside key traffic hotspots in Cape Girardeau, Flock Safety’s license plate reader cameras (ALPRs) use artificial intelligence (AI) to capture point-in-time images of vehicles and convert them into searchable information, including license plate numbers, vehicle characteristics, date, time and camera location. This gives law enforcement officials a digital trail across town.
Southeast Missouri State University’s Police Department (UPD) added four Flock cameras on campus in May 2025. While the university police describe the devices as an investigative tool for criminal cases and missing-person investigations, their installation has raised questions among SEMO students about privacy, surveillance, and how the data is accessed and used.
Thomas Regenbogen, a freshman undecided on his major, said he wasn't aware of the cameras before coming to SEMO. He said the cameras do not make him feel safer.
Regenbogen questioned whether the cameras would prevent someone from committing a crime.
“I mean, they don’t stop anything. I mean, if you’re gonna do something bad. You couldn’t do it with it or without,” Regenbogen said.
Regenbogen also said he has some privacy concerns and does not believe students receive enough information about the cameras.
According to Flock Safety, the cameras do not use facial recognition, identify people inside vehicles, or continuously track people or vehicles. The company says the system is designed to provide authorized users with vehicle evidence and investigative leads.Flock Safety is an Atlanta-based technology company that develops automated license plate readers and other public safety and surveillance technology for law enforcement and communities. The company is led by CEO Garrett Langley.According to the Flock website FAQ, what is Flock? “Flock builds public safety technology that helps agencies locate missing people, recover stolen vehicles, and investigate crime more quickly by helping them search for evidence relevant to an authorized investigation. Flock supports human decision-making. It does not make investigative conclusions or take enforcement action.”
How does SEMO use Flock?
UPD Lieutenant Matt Kight said UPD uses Flock cameras to assist with investigations involving stolen vehicles, property damage, violent cases, and missing persons.
“It’s an investigative tool that assists in criminal cases,” Kight said.
Kight said the cameras have assisted UPD with multiple investigations since they were installed, including a case solved during the week of the interview. He did not provide a specific number of cases in which the cameras have assisted.
According to the Flock Safety 2025 Impact Census. Flock supported more than 1 million criminal investigations and incidents in 2025. In jurisdictions where Flock is deployed, an estimated 20% of solved cases were assisted with Flock technology. With Flock's help, more than 10,000 missing persons were located last year, averaging more than 27 per day. More than 40% of customers report that Flock helped recover half or more of the stolen vehicles in their jurisdiction. Cape Girardeau Police Department Chief Adam Glueck told KFVS12 that Flock has helped solve 80 cases and contributed to more than 50 arrests. In 2026 alone, Flock helped Cape Girardeau police recover 19 stolen vehicles and five missing persons.
The cameras capture still images of vehicles and license plates rather than continuously recording video, Kight said.
The system does not use facial recognition or GPS tracking, and officers cannot use it to see inside a vehicle or determine who is inside.
“You can’t see what’s happening inside of the car,” Kight said.
Kight said the system is intended for use after a crime or other incident has been reported, rather than to continuously monitor campus activity.
“When you know that a crime has been committed, then you use that as an investigative tool as a part of your investigation,” Kight said.
How does UPD monitor its use?
UPD has policies governing who can access the Flock system and how officers can use it.
Officers must be trained before receiving access, and department policy prohibits personal use of the system.
When an officer conducts a search, the officer must provide a reason for the search and information connected to the investigation, such as a case number or calls-for-service number, Kight said.
“If you’re going to conduct a search, then part of completing the right criteria for that search is your reason and the case number and everything that you’re doing,” Kight said.
UPD can audit searches and review which users are accessing the system to monitor for potential misuse. Flock also has its own internal auditing system, Kight said.
Yet outside Southeast Missouri, documented instances of misuse have fueled national concerns.
In Texas, a police officer pleaded guilty to 100 counts of misuse of official information, according to KTRE.
According to WISN, former Milwaukee Police Officer Josue Ayala pleaded guilty to attempted misconduct in public office after using the department's Flock license plate reader system to search the plates of his former girlfriend and her former partner. According to the Criminal Complaint, the victim discovered that the former Milwaukee Officer was running his personal vehicle's license plate to track her location. One victim discovered through “HaveIBeenFlocked.com” that former Milwaukee Police repeatedly searched the license plate of their personal vehicle using Flock to obtain location information.
The cameras have also led to mistaken leads. In her Senate testimony, a Florida woman explained how she spent nearly two weeks in jail after a Flock camera erroneously tied her vehicle to a fatal crash.
Kight said UPD has not identified any misuse of its system.
“It’s quite simple to monitor, to look for any misuse or bad searches,” Kight said.
Kight said the cameras retain the information collected for seven days. He said the retention period was previously longer but was reduced to help limit potential misuse.
Kight also said the data is stored in an encrypted cloud system and that UPD does not share its Flock data with federal agencies or outside parties.
Why has Flock drawn scrutiny?
Flock cameras have drawn criticism from privacy advocates at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which argues that license plate readers collect information on people who are not suspected of a crime. Critics have raised concerns about how the data could be used to reconstruct vehicle movements, who can access the information, how long records are retained, and the potential for a nationwide mass surveillance system, according to the ACLU.
In Stoddard County, about 44 miles from SEMO, the Sheriff's Office indefinitely suspended its plans to install four Flock license plate reader cameras across the county. “Due to recent privacy concerns expressed by members of our community, the Stoddard County Sheriff's Office has made the decision to suspend all planned installations of Flock Safety cameras indefinitely,” Sheriff Carl Hefner said in a letter to the County Commission.
For Zack Bollinger, a senior political science major, his concern is less about the cameras themselves and more about how the technology is accessed and used.
“It’s not necessarily the camera itself. For me, the public safety concern is rather about how they’re used and how they’re accessed,” Bollinger said.
Flock has also faced scrutiny in Congress. On Sept. 23, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism held a hearing titled “Always Watching: Flock’s Nationwide AI Surveillance Network,” examining the use of ALPRs and concerns about privacy and oversight. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley chairs the subcommittee. Hawley sent a letter to Flock CEO Langley as part of the Senate investigation. Hawley requested information on how Flock collects, retains, and shares vehicle data, and who can access it. He also cited reported cases of law enforcement officers misusing Flock. Flock chief legal officer Dan Haley responded, defending the company’s privacy safeguards and saying transparency and accountability are necessary to maintain public trust. “Our Ethical Creed rests on the belief that transparency and accountability are crucial to establish and maintain trust between communities, government and law enforcement,” Haley said.
Some states have also taken action. In Florida, the Department of Transportation ordered the removal of automated license plate readers, including Flock cameras, from state highway system roads, with a September 2026 compliance deadline.In Missouri, Gov. Mike Kehoe signed an executive order Sept. 16 establishing safeguards for (ALPRs) technology, including Flock cameras. The order limits how the technology can be used, requires most license plate and vehicle data to be deleted within 30 days and prohibits vendors from selling or commercializing Missouri-generated data.UPD reviewed the executive order and determined the department was already operating in compliance with it. However, the order includes language regarding penalties for misuse and auditing. In response, UPD is creating a new general order to incorporate the penalties language into its Flock policy.
Elijah Tackett, a student studying theater and English education, said he was aware of the cameras but questioned their purpose.
“I don’t really see the point of having the Flock cameras there. I’m sure there’s plenty of cameras already around campus,” Tackett said.
Tackett also expressed concerns about the privacy implications of the cameras.
Bollinger said he would be more comfortable with the technology if safeguards were in place to prevent misuse.
“If there are proper systems in place to prevent abuse of power and abusing them, then, yeah, I guess that’s fine,” Bollinger said.
The Southeast Arrow, a student-run news publication at Southeast Missouri State University, originally published this story.