Survey Reveals More Americans Oppose Police License Plate Cameras Than Support Them

The mounting resistance against surveillance firms such as Flock appears to have reached a pivotal moment. A recent poll shows that a greater number of Americans oppose these surveillance cameras compared to those who support them.

A new YouGov survey involving 20,000 individuals across the United States, provided exclusively to The Washington Post, indicates that 46% of respondents were against the implementation of the company’s surveillance cameras in their neighborhoods, while only 38% were in favor. This represents a notable change from the previous year when the majority of those surveyed favored these cameras.

Flock is one of the leading surveillance companies, managing over 120,000 license plate readers nationwide that monitor vehicle movements. The organization has encountered controversy due to reports of law enforcement misusing the surveillance technology, leading many communities in the U.S. to either reject Flock’s cameras or terminate their contracts over privacy concerns.

The survey also revealed that a larger percentage of respondents felt that surveillance would not improve their sense of safety.

In a statement to TechCrunch, Flock claimed substantial support for its surveillance technology, although it acknowledged that “support isn’t unconditional,” emphasizing the implementation of new safety protocols. Critics, including the ACLU, argue that these new measures fall short and that Flock remains a significant threat to civil liberties.

As the backlash against the company escalates, Flock CEO Garrett Langley recently called for a “compromise” between surveillance practices and privacy rights, following an increase in vandalism incidents aimed at Flock cameras.