After battle with regulators, Flock Safety can install surveillance cameras across NC

The company that supplies the most surveillance cameras to continuously record details about vehicles driven across North Carolina is now licensed to install more.

Atlanta tech firm Flock Safety secured a business license last month to install and maintain compact cameras across the state , after a years-long battle with state regulators. The cameras automatically capture plate numbers, along with other information such as the make and color of vehicles that pass by, and store them for weeks in a database accessible to law enforcement.

A News & Observer investigation by Tyler Dukes published in May revealed the scale of Flock’s growth here, detailing how widely information gets shared, sometimes with law enforcement across the country. It also documented instances of police misuse and mistakes using this type of surveillance technology.

Raleigh, Greensboro and about 100 other North Carolina law enforcement agencies use the cameras, as well as some universities, including University of North Carolina campuses in Chapel Hill and Charlotte, according to a Flock Safety news release.

Overall, the company serves more than 400 customers throughout the state, the release says. A Flock representative did not respond when asked about customers outside of law enforcement — homeowner associations sometimes use its monitoring system, for instance — or the number of its cameras active across the state.

North Carolina court battle

State law requires companies that install alarm and camera systems used to detect illegal actions to obtain a license from the state’s Alarms Systems Licensing Board. The license is needed to prevent unsanctioned access to security information, Paul Sherwin, a director at the state’s Department of Public Safety, told the News & Observer last year.

But when the company, which was founded in 2017, started soliciting contracts in North Carolina for its services, it didn’t obtain the license

The licensing board began an investigation into the company in January 2022, while Flock officials argued to the board and in court that its systems don’t meet the state’s definition of an alarm system.

North Carolina is the only state to require such a license across the more than 40 states where the company operates, Flock spokesperson Josh Thomas told The N&O in an email last year.

In October 2023, Wake County Judge Vincent Rozier ordered the company to stop installing cameras unless it used a licensed third-party company. The company continued to grow its business through that route, moving forward with a deal in February with UNC-Chapel Hill’s police department.

In March, the company agreed in court documents to submit a license application to North Carolina’s Alarm Systems Licensing Board by June 1.

A failure to follow the agreement could have triggered an order for the company to end operations in the state.

According to information provided by the state Department of Public Safety, the company’s new license expires on July 31, 2026.

Extended pilot program

More growth in Flock’s North Carolina reach is expected. In June, Gov. Roy Cooper signed a law that extended a pilot launched Jan. 1, 2024 allowing cameras to be installed by the State Bureau of Investigation on Department of Transportation property through July 1, 2026.

That will allow the State Bureau of Investigation to install Flock or competing companies’ cameras on state roadways for itself or for local, state or federal law enforcement agencies. A legal interpretation issued during Republican Gov. Pat McCrory’s tenure said state law prohibited such devices from the state Department of Transportation right of ways.

In its press release announcing the license, Flock Safety touted the success of its partnership with local and state officials.

The company’s surveillance system helped UNC-Charlotte identify people who had been stealing catalytic converters on campus, the release noted. And it helped Garner police find three people in June who are now accused of fleeing the scene of a crash that injured a toddler.

Some police agencies in and out of North Carolina praise automated license plate recognition technology. A recent New Jersey audit said the technology aids with recovering stolen vehicles, disrupting auto-theft networks, finding criminal suspects and locating missing people.

But organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have expressed concerns about the privacy implications of the surveillance system capturing and storing data on millions of vehicles, while only a very small percent are suspected of any crimes.

Virginia Bridges covers criminal justice in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer. Her work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The N&O maintains full editorial control of its journalism.