Vandalism hits Flock Safety cameras in Southold amid growing privacy backlash

In July, four AI-driven Flock Safety cameras deployed in the Long Island town of Southold were deliberately damaged, according to Police Chief Steve Grattan. Two units were defaced with paint and had their power cables disconnected during the July 4 holiday, while a third was later struck by a vehicle and a fourth again had its wires cut. A fifth camera on Main Road in the neighboring town of Peconic was found rotated away from the street, but authorities could not determine if weather or sabotage was responsible.

The vandalism is part of a broader national backlash against the license-plate tracking system, which critics say infringes on privacy and has been misused by officers, including a recent case in Georgia where 18 officers were arrested for illicit data access. Activist group DeFlock notes that Flock Safety now supplies nearly 90,000 cameras to over 5,000 police agencies. Lawmakers at state and federal levels are introducing bills to limit data retention, require reporting, and even cut federal funding for jurisdictions that adopt the technology.