Fearing the Flock?

By Elizabeth Prata

People in my area have noticed that some new “Flock Cameras” have been installed. These are fixed, motion-activated automated license plate reader (ALPR) manufactured by Flock Safety, hence the name. Flock says that these are an aid to Law Enforcement, capturing information about a vehicle while it’s in public view. The company says the information gained, such as licence plate number, make, model, color, and details on the vehicle like toolboxes or fixed racks, aid in investigations.

Many citizens claim it’s intrusive, that they advance mass surveillance, that data can be shared inappropriately, and they oppose the Constitution’s promise that government must prove guilt rather than citizens must prove innocence.

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See, what happens is, the camera takes a photo of all comings and goings under the camera’s range, and that data is stored. The American Civil Liberties Union says that these “automated license plate readers create comprehensive records of everyone’s comings and goings, rather than just targeting individuals with a specific suspicion of a crime.” The data can be shared quickly and easily across jurisdictions and among different law enforcement agencies.

Not surprisingly, mistakes have occurred. Since the camera is AI fueled, some municipalities have discovered the camera has difficulty distinguishing between a letter O and number 0. So one municipality changed their licence plates to have an angled slash inside the 0, which the cameras now read as an 8. This has caused mistaken vehicular identities to happen and wrong arrests to occur.

Flock safety cameras are not supposed to automatically generate tickets or citations for traffic violations like speeding or running red lights. The promise was they would only be used to aid in identifying vehicular movement for ongoing investigations. They are designed to help law enforcement identify vehicles connected to serious crimes, stolen property, or missing persons, allegedly.

The data has been misused already. In Georgia, a ticket was sent retroactively to a motorcyclist seen on camera holding his phone in his hand, which is against the law in Georgia while operating a motor vehicle. It’s a ‘hands free‘ state.

In June 2026, “Three Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office deputies have been fired and arrested, accused of unlawfully accessing the county’s license plate reader database, according to arrest affidavits,” says Atlanta News First.

And it happened in Braselton GA, and in Echols County GA, too. The same thing happened in Wisconsin, where it was reported that “Wisconsin communities grapple with police misuse of Flock surveillance.” Sadly, these cases show that some people who have access to this data use it to stalk.

It’s also been misused to view or target citizens at abortion clinics, political protests, and to specifically target activists. The ‘eye in the sky’ seems to be popping up everywhere. According to the latest counts, in GA about 6,000 municipalities and more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies use Flock Cameras to look down on citizen doings.

Georgia is a hot spot for these cameras with more than 5,000 across the state, according to the DeFlock map. This makes Georgia among the states with the highest density of the company’s surveillance units. Source Grady News

Concerns about mass surveillance is real. As one FIFA World Cup visitor to the US from Great Britain stated, he now has first-hand understanding why Americans are so attached to their guns. He said that sadly, his gunless, CCTV-saturated country has become weak and fearful while the UK Government has reached tyrannical status. “And there is nothing we can do about it,” he said.

Americans do balk at the notion that government is intrusively using AI data and Surveillance to watch our movements. Facebook groups and other social media outlets host robust discussions against this latest intrusion into the daily lives of ordinary citizens.

Here is what I desire. I wish that Christians and non-saved people alike would remember the greatest Mass Surveillance of all. That they would have equally robust discussions about the fact that God is THE ‘Eye in the Sky’.

Worried about a flimsy 10-foot tall camera? What about God’s omniscience?

Surely the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His loving devotion. (Psalm 33:18).

And not just on those who fear Him, but all peoples, nations, tribes, and tongues-

The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good. (Proverbs 15:3).

He knows all, and not just our external doings, but the heart. He remembers each and every word uttered by every person, saved or not. He knows all our deeds. And He never misuses the data, it is perfectly applied in perfect justice in perfect timing.

Does a Christian’s stomach crunch over this a little bit? Does an unsaved person know this-

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13).

Flock camera installation, and Flock camera misuse are simply evidence of our society’s sinful state. That we need them, and that the information is misused already despite being new, is yet another proof that humans are sinners.

If we’re saved by repenting and trusting in the Lord Jesus, we can remember that though the LORD does see and hear and know all, He has a loving stance toward us because He sees through His righteous Son when He looks at us. We will not face Him in judgment, but in celebration. We will acknowledge any deeds we have done that He takes us to account for will be perfectly justified. But we won’t be punished for them, we’ll lose rewards, as it should be.

Don’t fear the Flock. Fear God.

JC Ryle said,

“Do nothing that you would not like God to see. Say nothing you would not like God to hear. Write nothing you would not like God to read. Go no place where you would not like God to find you. Read no book of which you would not like God to say, “Show it to Me.”

Never spend your time in such a way that you would not like to have God say, “What are you doing?”
― J.C. Ryle

Further resources

More Cameras, More Questions: Inside Northeast Georgia’s Growing Surveillance Network, by Grady Multiplatform Journalist May 19, 2026