Sources · Citation library
Every source, and what it does not prove
The complete citation library behind this site, generated from the same records the pages cite. Every entry states what it establishes and what it does not — the second half is what stops a citation being over-read later.
61 sources
- Local reporting
Coverage of the Pinal County Sheriff's Flock contract non-renewal
ABC15 Arizona · published Aug 5, 2026 · checked Aug 11, 2026
Reports Sheriff Ross Teeple's announcement that the office will not renew its Flock Safety contract, citing Fourth Amendment concerns. The service agreement itself, the exact expiration date, and the per-unit camera count remain unobtained — see the open questions on the Pinal County record.
Cited by Signal Arizona man arrested after bending Flock camera pole amid growing ALPR backlash Signal Pinal County sheriff declines to renew Flock contract, citing the Fourth Amendment Jurisdiction Pinal County, AZ Vendor Flock Safety Arsenal Pinal County declined — on Fourth Amendment grounds
- Agency release · Primary
Chandler discontinues use of Flock's automated license plate readers
City of Chandler · published Aug 7, 2026 · checked Aug 11, 2026
The city's own announcement. Authoritative for what Chandler decided and said: 40 cameras discontinued, the agreement not renewed, department access revoked. The city's further statement that no resident's privacy was compromised is an official claim about an investigation that was still open, and we present it as the city's position rather than as established fact.
Cited by Signal Arizona man arrested after bending Flock camera pole amid growing ALPR backlash Signal Chandler shuts down 40 Flock cameras after an audit finds use it cannot explain Jurisdiction Chandler, AZ Vendor Flock Safety Arsenal Three years of audits found nothing. The fourth found something.
- Local reporting
Chandler ends use of Flock license plate readers after audit finds anomaly
AZFamily · published Aug 7, 2026 · checked Aug 11, 2026
Corroborating local coverage of the Chandler shutdown. Establishes that the trigger was a routine audit that found an anomaly in system use. It reports the city's account of that audit; the audit document itself has not been obtained, so the nature of the anomaly remains the city's characterization.
Cited by Signal Chandler shuts down 40 Flock cameras after an audit finds use it cannot explain Jurisdiction Chandler, AZ Arsenal Three years of audits found nothing. The fourth found something.
- NGO research
Victory: Austin organizers cancel the city's Flock ALPR contract
Electronic Frontier Foundation · published Jun 3, 2025 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Reports the cancellation and, importantly, that Austin continued to use ALPR through Axon afterwards. This is the clearest available demonstration of why the standard must be vendor-neutral: ending a Flock contract is not ending mass ALPR surveillance.
Cited by Verified Austin assessment Vendor Axon Vendor Flock Safety
- NGO research
OpenStreetMap ALPR node data — nationwide extract
OpenStreetMap contributors · published Aug 15, 2026 · checked Aug 15, 2026
118,623 mapped camera coordinates retrieved via the Overpass API on 2026-08-15, queried per state across the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and committed as a snapshot. Community-contributed, licensed ODbL 1.0, attributed per record. These are volunteer observations, not Unsurveilled field verification — we have not personally confirmed any pole, and the Atlas labels them accordingly. Coverage is whatever mappers have recorded, so a place with no points has no OSM coverage rather than no cameras. Full extraction method, accepted tags, and known false-positive risks are documented at /atlas/methodology/. SUPERSEDES an earlier snapshot of 613 coordinates limited to the Phoenix East Valley; the ID is retained because published records cite it, and this note records the change rather than hiding it.
Cited by Jurisdiction Queen Creek, AZ Vendor Motorola Solutions Technology Automated license plate readers
- National reporting
The government is monitoring anti-Flock TikTok and Instagram accounts
404 Media · checked Aug 14, 2026
Investigative reporting based on public-records material and intelligence bulletins from multiple state and regional fusion centers. Establishes that fusion centers monitored PUBLICLY VISIBLE anti-ALPR social-media activity and circulated intelligence products to law-enforcement recipients. It does NOT establish that any social platform handed over private account data — a distinction that must survive into every headline, caption, and graphic derived from this story.
Cited by Signal Fusion centers monitored anti-ALPR activists and circulated intelligence on planned events Arsenal What the records show — fusion centers and anti-ALPR activists
- NGO research
Fight creepy ALPR cameras
American Civil Liberties Union · checked Aug 14, 2026
The ACLU's national campaign page. Authoritative for what the ACLU is doing and asking for — model legislation, affiliate toolkits, amicus filings, federal advocacy. The statistics it publishes, including an installed-base figure for Flock cameras and claimed hit rates, are the organisation's claims and are cited as such rather than as established counts. It is advocacy material by a party to several of the matters it describes.
Cited by Signal The ACLU's national ALPR campaign puts a number on Flock. We can check it. Signal The Norfolk plate-reader case is at the Fourth Circuit, and the whole question is scale
- National reporting
Exclusive: Government spy hubs are monitoring anti-surveillance activists
Dan Boguslaw · Dan Boguslaw · checked Aug 14, 2026
Earlier related reporting on the same body of records. Useful for the sequence and scope of distribution; the underlying bulletins themselves remain the stronger source and have not yet been obtained and archived by Unsurveilled.
Cited by Signal Fusion centers monitored anti-ALPR activists and circulated intelligence on planned events Arsenal What the records show — fusion centers and anti-ALPR activists
- Court filing · Primary
Brief of amicus curiae EPIC, Schmidt v. City of Norfolk, No. 26-1227
Electronic Privacy Information Center · published Apr 1, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
A filed brief in the Fourth Circuit appeal, which establishes the docket number and that the appeal is being briefed. An amicus brief is advocacy: it establishes what a party argued, never that the argument is correct.
Cited by Signal The ACLU's national ALPR campaign puts a number on Flock. We can check it. Signal The Norfolk plate-reader case is at the Fourth Circuit, and the whole question is scale
- NGO research
The future for license plate readers after the Supreme Court's big Fourth Amendment decision
Institute for Justice · checked Aug 14, 2026
An event page from the litigation organisation representing the plaintiffs in Schmidt v. Norfolk, discussing what the Supreme Court's 2026 location-data decision may mean for ALPR systems. Establishes that the question is live and being argued seriously. It is advocacy framing by a party to related litigation, and it is not a holding.
Cited by Signal The Norfolk plate-reader case is at the Fourth Circuit, and the whole question is scale Signal Supreme Court holds digital location history is protected — and says nothing about license plate readers
- Local reporting
Chandler police end Flock camera partnership after potential misuse
KJZZ · published Aug 7, 2026 · checked Aug 11, 2026
Corroborating local coverage using the phrase "potential misuse". Valuable because it preserves the department's own framing — potential rather than established misuse. It does not establish who ran the searches, what the searches were for, or the outcome of the internal review.
Cited by Signal Chandler shuts down 40 Flock cameras after an audit finds use it cannot explain Jurisdiction Chandler, AZ
- Statute · Primary
Final bill report, Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6002
Washington State Legislature · published Mar 31, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
The legislature own final report on the enacted bill. Establishes the operative provisions: deletion of ALPR data within 21 days with enumerated exceptions, state and local agencies as legal owners of the data, sharing limited to judicial proceedings and authorised state or local agencies and vendors, prohibition on use at schools, places of worship, courts and food banks and near protected health care and immigration facilities, gross misdemeanour penalties, and a private right of action under the Consumer Protection Act. It records an emergency clause, so the act took effect on enactment. It is a summary of the statute, not the statute text.
Cited by Signal Renton votes to physically cover its plate readers rather than trust that they are off Signal Washington's ALPR law is the strictest in the country, and it is already in force
- NGO research
Get the FLOCK Out — community advocacy toolkit
ACLU of Massachusetts · checked Aug 14, 2026
An affiliate organising toolkit containing public-records request templates and a model surveillance-oversight ordinance. Establishes what the ACLU is asking communities to do. It is advocacy material and is not evidence about any particular jurisdiction.
Cited by Signal The ACLU's national ALPR campaign puts a number on Flock. We can check it.
- NGO research
As public opposition to Flock grows, ACLU responds to surveillance company new updates
American Civil Liberties Union · checked Aug 14, 2026
The ACLU assessment of the August 2026 Flock platform changes. Establishes the organisation position; the factual claims inside it about Flock product behaviour rest on Flock own announcement.
Cited by Signal The ACLU's national ALPR campaign puts a number on Flock. We can check it.
- Local reporting
Organizers launch week of action against Flock and other ALPRs
Atlanta Press Collective · published Aug 15, 2026 · checked Aug 15, 2026
Named reporting on the launch. Establishes the dates, that DeFlock is led by Ed Vogel, that over 400 events are planned across nearly every state with roughly 22,000 registered participants, and that organisers deliberately withhold specific event details from the public map to avoid interference. Load-bearing for the distinction this site must preserve: Vogel states plainly that "DeFlock doesn't advocate or organize around smashing or taking down cameras", while acknowledging separate vandalism that has drawn FBI attention. It does not independently verify the participation figures.
Cited by Signal The national week of action against ALPRs runs August 16–22, and it is a civic one
- Local reporting
Fridley police detail who can access Flock Safety camera data amid concerns from residents
CBS News Minnesota · published Jul 28, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Reports figures the Fridley Police Department presented publicly: 107 immigration-related searches and 494,812 searches in total against Fridley cameras in January 2026, falling to zero and 22,480 in February 2026 after the department restricted its network to Minnesota agencies. Quotes Deputy Director Patrick Faber. The figures are the department own account of its audit data; Unsurveilled has not obtained the logs behind them.
Cited by Signal Around thirty agencies searched Twin Cities plate-reader data for immigration enforcement
- Agency release · Primary
Statement on the Flock Safety ALPR contract termination
City of Cambridge, Massachusetts · published Dec 9, 2025 · checked Aug 14, 2026
The city's own statement. Establishes termination of the Flock deployment. Critically, it also indicates the City planned to continue evaluating ALPR technology — which is why Cambridge does not meet the forward-looking no-dragnet requirement despite otherwise strong protections.
Cited by Verified Cambridge assessment
- Ordinance · Primary
Ypsilanti Ordinance No. 1401 — prohibiting electronic license-plate scanning devices
City of Ypsilanti, Michigan · published Sep 13, 2022 · checked Aug 14, 2026
The ordinance text itself. Establishes a municipal prohibition on the installation or use of electronic license-plate scanning devices in the city. It does not speak to facial recognition, data-broker purchases, surveillance-technology approval process, inventory, reporting, or access to neighbouring and regional ALPR databases — all of which the Verified Unsurveilled standard also requires.
Cited by Verified Ypsilanti assessment
- National reporting
Flock rolls out new police auditing and accountability controls following surveillance concerns
CNN Business · published Aug 13, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
National coverage of the same announcement, focused on the auditing and case-code controls. Establishes what was announced. It does not establish that any agency has adopted the controls, nor that a case code is validated against a genuine open case at the moment a search runs — which is the question that separates an audit trail from a legal standard.
- Local reporting
Judge holds Norfolk license plate reader use constitutional
Courthouse News Service · published Jan 27, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Reports the January 27, 2026 summary-judgment ruling for the City of Norfolk, and the court reasoning that the plaintiffs had not shown the system capable of tracking the whole of a person movements. Reporting about an opinion, not the opinion itself; Unsurveilled has not obtained the memorandum opinion and does not quote from it.
Cited by Signal The Norfolk plate-reader case is at the Fourth Circuit, and the whole question is scale
- NGO research · Primary
National Week of Action Against ALPRs
DeFlock · checked Aug 15, 2026
The organisers' own site and the canonical hub for the week of August 16-22, 2026, carrying the event map and the organising toolkit. Authoritative for what DeFlock is calling for and how to find a local event. It is advocacy material by the organising group, so its participation figures are the organisers' own counts rather than an independent tally, and Unsurveilled cites them as such. The server refuses automated requests, so the details recorded here were confirmed from named reporting rather than by fetching the page.
Cited by Signal The national week of action against ALPRs runs August 16–22, and it is a civic one
- Local reporting
Duluth police explain decision to end Flock contract
Duluth News Tribune · published Aug 13, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Establishes that Duluth notified Flock on August 3, 2026 that it would not renew, that the contract expires September 7, 2026, that the deployment was nine stationary cameras funded by a $30,000 Minnesota Auto Theft Prevention Program grant, and that six of the nine had been stolen or damaged since June. Quotes Chief Mike Ceynowa and Deputy Chief Nick Lukovsky, and reports that the department operates roughly sixty vehicle-mounted readers deployed since 2011 and may consider other stationary-reader vendors. Critically, it does NOT establish that Duluth is ending automated plate reading — only that it is ending this vendor contract.
Cited by Signal Duluth and Sherburne County drop Flock — and Duluth keeps sixty license plate readers
- Vendor material · Primary
Flock updates privacy, accountability, security, and transparency safeguards
Flock Safety · published Aug 13, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
The company's own announcement, and therefore authoritative for what Flock says it will do: default retention cut from 30 days to 7, case codes required on all searches by end of 2026, exigent searches flagged for administrator review, Audit Assistance mandatory by end of 2026, proactive lockout, and Evidence Mode free to agencies adopting the 7-day default. It is NOT authoritative for whether those measures work, whether agencies will adopt them, or whether they are sufficient. Note what is absent: no warrant requirement for access is announced anywhere in it.
- Local reporting
Arizona man uses truck to bend Flock camera pole in Apache Junction
FOX 10 Phoenix · published Aug 8, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Named local reporting. Establishes that a Pinal County resident stated he used a work truck to bend an ALPR pole near Superstition Boulevard and Goldfield Road, that he was arrested, and that he faced a felony criminal-damage charge. It does not establish the outcome of the case — an arrest and a charge are not a conviction — and we have not yet obtained the police report or the court docket.
Cited by Signal Arizona man arrested after bending Flock camera pole amid growing ALPR backlash
- Local reporting
Flock camera debate continues in Fridley as officials explain data access changes
FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul · published Jul 28, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Contemporaneous coverage of the Fridley City Council meeting at which the police department explained the access changes. Corroborates the timing of the restrictions; adds no independent figures.
Cited by Signal Around thirty agencies searched Twin Cities plate-reader data for immigration enforcement
- National reporting
New Washington law regulates license plate readers
Government Technology · published Apr 1, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Reporting on the signing and on the law practical effect, including that federal authorities may still seek data by subpoena. Its account of the signing date differs by a day from other coverage, and its summary of the sensitive-location list is shorter than the legislature own; the final bill report governs where they differ.
Cited by Signal Washington's ALPR law is the strictest in the country, and it is already in force
- NGO research
Judge rules lawsuit challenging Norfolk use of Flock cameras can proceed
Institute for Justice · checked Aug 14, 2026
Litigant material from the organisation representing the plaintiffs. Authoritative about the case history and the plaintiffs position, and not a neutral account of the merits.
Cited by Signal The Norfolk plate-reader case is at the Fourth Circuit, and the whole question is scale
- NGO research
Research on the nationwide scale of automated license plate reader networks
Institute for Justice · checked Aug 11, 2026
Used for context on the scale of ALPR deployment nationally. Cited for its own findings only; we do not restate its figures as Unsurveilled findings.
- Court opinion
Chatrie v. United States, 609 U.S. ___ (2026)
Justia · published Jun 29, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Case summary and procedural history; argued April 27, 2026.
- Local reporting
Renton Council to vote on ending Flock Safety contract as city prepares to cover cameras
KOMO News · published Aug 5, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Corroborating coverage of the same council action, and of the separate motion directing the administration not to renew rather than to cancel mid-term. Its reported vote tally differs from the Seattle Weekly account, which is why neither figure is stated as established here.
Cited by Signal Renton votes to physically cover its plate readers rather than trust that they are off
- Local reporting
Eugene council starts work on a city surveillance policy
Lookout Eugene-Springfield · published Jun 18, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Establishes that policy development began in 2026. The final adopted policy is what the verification standard turns on, and it is not yet available.
Cited by Verified Eugene assessment
- Local reporting
Duluth becomes Minnesota largest community to pull plug on Flock cameras
Minnesota Star Tribune · published Aug 12, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Reports the Sherburne County Sheriff Office removing its Flock cameras and places Duluth as the largest Minnesota community to end a Flock contract. It does not provide a verified statewide count of Minnesota communities that have left, and Unsurveilled has not independently tallied one.
Cited by Signal Duluth and Sherburne County drop Flock — and Duluth keeps sixty license plate readers
- Local reporting
Police searched Twin Cities license plate cameras for immigration enforcement during ICE surge
Minnesota Star Tribune · published Jul 20, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Investigative reporting built on ALPR audit records. Establishes that around thirty state, county and federal agencies searched camera data held by at least eight Twin Cities suburbs for immigration-enforcement purposes between November and March, during the federal operation known as Metro Surge, and that Minnesota law limits sharing of ALPR data to active criminal investigations. It does not establish that any particular search was unlawful — that is a legal conclusion no outlet has authority to reach — and Unsurveilled does not hold the underlying audit logs.
Cited by Signal Around thirty agencies searched Twin Cities plate-reader data for immigration enforcement
- Local reporting
Eugene and Springfield end Flock camera contracts
OPB · published Dec 6, 2025 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Establishes that Eugene and Springfield ended their Flock contracts in December 2025. It does not establish what either city does now: ending a vendor contract is not ending automated plate reading, and Eugene's later work on a broader surveillance policy is tracked separately.
Cited by Verified Eugene assessment
- Local reporting
Feds checked these suburbs Flock cameras for immigration cases
Patch · published Jul 20, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Secondary coverage of the Star Tribune investigation. Names the suburbs whose camera data was searched — Fridley, Eagan, South St. Paul, Crystal, Robbinsdale, Brooklyn Center, Hopkins and Shakopee — and identifies the Mille Lacs County Sheriff Office as one searching agency. It does not itemise searches by agency or by suburb.
Cited by Signal Around thirty agencies searched Twin Cities plate-reader data for immigration enforcement
- National reporting
Flock Safety sets 7-day default for ALPR data, adds mandatory misuse safeguards
Police1 · published Aug 13, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Trade coverage aimed at law enforcement readers, useful for how the changes are being presented to the agencies that have to implement them.
- NGO research
August 16-22: National Week of Action Against ALPRs
Popular Resistance · checked Aug 15, 2026
Movement coverage corroborating the dates and describing the format — no single national action, each participating city hosting at least one event of its own. Advocacy publication rather than independent reporting; used for the structure of the week, not for participation counts.
Cited by Signal The national week of action against ALPRs runs August 16–22, and it is a civic one
- Local reporting
Renton City Council votes to cover Flock cameras
Seattle Weekly · published Aug 6, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Establishes that the Renton City Council voted on August 3, 2026 to physically cover the city Flock cameras, with Councilmember James Alberson opposed, and that the cameras had been switched off since May 4, 2026. Quotes Councilmembers Rivera, Alberson, McIrvin and Kim-Khanh Van. Reported vote tallies differ between outlets, so Unsurveilled cites the direction of the vote and the named dissent rather than a count.
Cited by Signal Renton votes to physically cover its plate readers rather than trust that they are off
- Court opinion · Primary
Chatrie v. United States, No. 25-112 (U.S. June 29, 2026)
Supreme Court of the United States · published Jun 29, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
The opinion itself, Kagan J. Establishes that a Fourth Amendment search occurs when the government obtains digital location history held by a third party, even for a short period. It expressly does NOT resolve whether the geofence warrant in the case satisfied probable cause and particularity — that was remanded to the Fourth Circuit — and it says nothing about automated license plate readers.
- National reporting
Flock Safety reforms leave the warrant gap open — officers can type any case number
Tech Times · published Aug 13, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Makes the distinction this story turns on: a case code is entered by the searching officer and is not validated against anything at the moment of search, so it is an audit artefact rather than a legal standard. We have not independently tested the system, so this is presented as reported analysis.
- National reporting
License plate cameras may be next target after Supreme Court reins in location tracking
The Record (Recorded Future News) · published Jul 10, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Reports the argument that Chatrie's reasoning about retrospective and indiscriminate collection could extend to ALPR networks, and Flock's counter-position that courts have consistently treated ALPR differently. Both are positions in a live dispute, not holdings.
- National reporting
Flock announces changes amid backlash over its license plate reader network
The Washington Post · published Aug 13, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
National coverage of the August 2026 Flock platform changes, placing them against the run of cancellations that preceded them. Establishes that the changes were announced and that they followed sustained public pressure. Its account of what the product now does rests on Flock's own announcement, which remains the primary source for the product behaviour itself.
- Academic paper
Leaving the door wide open — Flock surveillance systems expose Washington data to immigration enforcement
University of Washington Center for Human Rights · published Oct 21, 2025 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Research finding that multiple Washington law-enforcement agencies had ALPR networks shared with federal immigration authorities in 2025. It predates SB 6002 and describes the conditions the law was written against; it does not describe compliance after the law took effect.
Cited by Signal Washington's ALPR law is the strictest in the country, and it is already in force
- Ordinance · Primary
Yellow Springs municipal code — surveillance approval, review, and reporting
Village of Yellow Springs, Ohio · checked Aug 14, 2026
Covers review of preexisting uses, annual reporting for approved systems, and the prohibition on conflicting contracts.
Cited by Verified Yellow Springs assessment
- Ordinance · Primary
Yellow Springs municipal code — surveillance technology provisions
Village of Yellow Springs, Ohio · checked Aug 14, 2026
Codified surveillance-technology provisions. Establishes that technologies including ALPRs and biometric surveillance are treated as surveillance technology subject to an approval process. Does not by itself establish which technologies are currently approved or in use.
Cited by Verified Yellow Springs assessment
- Local reporting
Binghamton City Council resolution urges mayor to terminate Flock camera contract
WBNG · published Aug 7, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Establishes that the Binghamton City Council adopted a resolution on August 6, 2026 calling on Mayor Jared Kraham to terminate the city Flock contracts, and quotes Council President Michael Dundon and Majority Leader Rebecca Rathmell. A resolution of this kind expresses the council position; this source does not establish that it binds the mayor.
Cited by Signal Binghamton's council voted to end its Flock contracts. It has no power to do it.
- Local reporting
A federal judge ruled Norfolk Flock surveillance cameras do not invade people privacy — yet
WHRO · published Feb 11, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Adds detail on the record before the district court, including that the two plaintiffs vehicles were captured 475 and 325 times over four months in 2025, and the court observation about the number of camera clusters relative to the city area. Camera counts differ between accounts of this case, so no single figure is stated as established.
Cited by Signal The Norfolk plate-reader case is at the Fourth Circuit, and the whole question is scale
- Local reporting
Sherburne County to discontinue Flock camera use
Willmar Radio · published Aug 12, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Local confirmation that the Sherburne County Sheriff Office ended its Flock agreement and removed the cameras, and that the deployment had been a grant-funded trial that would have required county funds to continue.
Cited by Signal Duluth and Sherburne County drop Flock — and Duluth keeps sixty license plate readers
- Local reporting
In Binghamton the mayor has authority to cancel Flock Safety contracts, not city council
WSKG · published Jul 31, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
The load-bearing source for this story. Reports that cancellation authority rests with the mayor rather than the council, quotes Council Chair Michael Dundon saying the council has no power over the renewal, quotes Deputy Mayor Megan Heiman defending the technology, and reports that one contract renews automatically in August 2026 with a second up for renewal in January 2027. It does not cite the charter provision itself, which Unsurveilled has not obtained.
Cited by Signal Binghamton's council voted to end its Flock contracts. It has no power to do it.
- Social lead Discovery lead — not evidence
Social post describing an Arizona arrest over a bent Flock camera pole
X (post) · checked Aug 14, 2026
Discovery lead only. This is how the story surfaced; it is not evidence of any fact in it. The viral framing ("absolutely zero regrets") is the poster's characterization, and we traced the claim to named local reporting before publishing anything.
Cited by Signal Arizona man arrested after bending Flock camera pole amid growing ALPR backlash
- Social lead Discovery lead — not evidence
Viral post claiming government surveillance centers monitor anti-Flock accounts
X (post) · checked Aug 14, 2026
Discovery lead only. The viral framing is broader than the reporting supports — it implies platform cooperation that the records do not show. Published here so readers can see exactly what we did and did not adopt from it.
Cited by Signal Fusion centers monitored anti-ALPR activists and circulated intelligence on planned events
- Statute · Primary
Arizona Constitution, Article II, Section 8 — Right to privacy
Arizona State Legislature · checked Aug 15, 2026
"No person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law." Establishes an independent state-level privacy provision whose text is broader than the Fourth Amendment's. Whether Arizona courts read it as offering greater protection for location data is an open question we have not resolved.
Not currently cited Held for reference. No published claim depends on it.
- Statute · Primary
US Constitution, Fourth Amendment
Constitution Annotated, Library of Congress · checked Aug 15, 2026
The constitutional text itself. It establishes the protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. It does not by itself establish that any particular ALPR deployment violates it — that is a question courts are actively working through, and Unsurveilled's position on it is argument rather than holding.
Not currently cited Held for reference. No published claim depends on it.
- NGO research
Atlas of Surveillance
Electronic Frontier Foundation · checked Aug 15, 2026
A searchable database of surveillance technologies deployed by US law-enforcement agencies. Useful as a research LEAD for what may be deployed in a community. It records deployments rather than reversals — four days after Chandler shut down its Flock cameras the Atlas still listed a 2019 PIPS/Vigilant deployment there — so it should not be treated as current without independent confirmation.
Not currently cited Held for reference. No published claim depends on it.
- NGO research
Automated License Plate Readers — Street-Level Surveillance
Electronic Frontier Foundation · checked Aug 15, 2026
Technical background on how ALPR systems capture, store and share plate data. Establishes how the technology works. It is advocacy-adjacent research rather than a vendor specification, and specific product behaviour should be confirmed against the vendor's own documentation or a contract.
Not currently cited Held for reference. No published claim depends on it.
- NGO research
Tracking of reported ALPR misuse incidents
Institute for Justice · checked Aug 15, 2026
IJ has identified 30 reported incidents (September 2021 to July 2026, across 29 jurisdictions in 12 states) in which law-enforcement personnel allegedly used ALPR systems to stalk romantic interests or people they were personally pursuing, compiled from media reports and public records and described by IJ as almost certainly an undercount. It establishes that a documented pattern of misuse exists and roughly how many cases have surfaced. It does not establish a rate, because the denominator — total searches run nationally — is not public.
Not currently cited Held for reference. No published claim depends on it.
- National reporting
The backlash against Flock cameras is spreading
Malwarebytes Labs · published Jul 1, 2026 · checked Aug 14, 2026
A security vendor's blog summarising the spread of Flock cancellations. Useful as an overview and as a pointer to primary local coverage. It aggregates other outlets rather than doing original records work, so any individual cancellation should be confirmed against its local source before being entered in the Decision Record.
Not currently cited Held for reference. No published claim depends on it.
- NGO research
Open Government Guide — public records and open meetings law in all 50 states
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press · checked Aug 15, 2026
The standard 50-state compendium of public-records law, each state's section written by access-law attorneys and citing the statute directly. Every state profile in Unsurveilled's records-request generator — act name, statutory citation, who may request, and response deadline where one exists — was read from this guide on 2026-08-15. It establishes what the law is called and where it is codified. It does NOT establish how a particular agency behaves, it is a secondary source summarising statutes rather than the statutes themselves, and it is not legal advice. Where the guide did not state a response deadline, Unsurveilled records none rather than inferring one.
Not currently cited Held for reference. No published claim depends on it.
- Court opinion · Primary
Carpenter v. United States, 585 U.S. 296 (2018)
Supreme Court of the United States, via Justia · published Jun 22, 2018 · checked Aug 15, 2026
Held that the government generally needs a warrant to obtain historical cell-site location records chronicling a person's movements. Establishes the Court's reasoning about comprehensive retrospective location tracking. It does not resolve ALPR networks, and courts have so far distinguished them — we cite it for the trajectory of the reasoning, not for more than it holds.
Not currently cited Held for reference. No published claim depends on it.
- Court opinion · Primary
United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. 400 (2012)
Supreme Court of the United States, via Justia · published Jan 23, 2012 · checked Aug 15, 2026
Held that attaching a GPS tracking device to a vehicle and using it to monitor the vehicle's movements is a Fourth Amendment search. It concerns a device physically attached to one target's car; it does not address roadside cameras or networked databases, and it should not be cited as if it did.
Not currently cited Held for reference. No published claim depends on it.
- Agency release · Primary
Cartographic boundary files, 2017 edition
US Census Bureau · published Jan 1, 2017 · checked Aug 14, 2026
Public-domain state boundary geometry used to draw the Atlas base map. Self hosted so no tile provider ever receives a visitor's map queries.
Not currently cited Held for reference. No published claim depends on it.
Nothing matches that filter.
If a citation here is wrong, broken, or being over-read, tell us — we would rather be corrected than trusted blindly. Sources are also available in the open data.