At least ten university campuses across seven US states have ended their contracts with Flock Safety since April 2026. This follows growing concerns and protests regarding the privacy implications of the company's automated license plate reader cameras.
Stanford University cut ties with Flock Safety this summer after a campaign led by senior Angela Nguyen, who helped collect hundreds of signatures from students, faculty, alumni, and residents. Nguyen expressed fears that the cameras, which record vehicle locations, could be exploited to victimise vulnerable individuals.
Other institutions that have scrapped Flock contracts include Cornell University, Penn State University, Emory University, and several branches of the University of Wisconsin. The University of Buffalo also announced an indefinite pause on a planned 60-day pilot program last week.
Some universities, such as Appalachian State University and the University of North Carolina's Charlotte and Chapel Hill campuses, have kept Flock contracts but restricted national access to the camera records. UNC Charlotte made this change after a local news outlet reported that the Houston police department had searched the school's Flock camera network 183,000 times between March and May 2026.
Flock Safety stated that its cameras help solve crimes and increase public safety by providing credible leads to campus police. The company highlighted cases where its cameras reportedly assisted in tracking a shooter at Brown University and finding a suspect in a theft investigation at UNC Charlotte.
However, student activists at universities like Stanford and Binghamton are now pushing for universities to avoid using any automated license plate recognition (ALPR) systems, even as some institutions pivot to other vendors. Stanford is installing replacement ALPRs from Canadian company Genetec, while Binghamton University has announced a switch to Axon.