New report from November 12

Rock Island

22 cameras. 4,857 agencies. 9 million searches.

Rock Island owns 22 Flock cameras. Police and federal agencies from across the country searched them nine million times. No one here said yes.

Read the investigation →

East Moline

Searched for immigration, protests, and an abortion.

146 immigration searches. 5 for protests. One that read “had an abortion, search for female.” All done with cameras in our community.

Read the investigation →

These aren’t two separate stories. A single search sweeps thousands of camera networks at once, so the same searches reached both towns. The Texas “had an abortion, search for female” search hit East Moline and Rock Island in the very same second.

RECORDING IN PROGRESS

You’re Being Tracked in
The Quad Cities.

Flock Safety cameras are watching you everywhere in the QC. Saving a hidden record of where you go that can be searched, shared, and misused without a warrant.

This only stops if we act.

Sign the Petition

See For Yourself

Flock Camera and ALPR Locations in the Quad Cities

Points are ALPR cameras volunteers mapped on OpenStreetMap through the DeFlock project. This is not all of them.

Community-mapped via DeFlock
See a camera we're missing? Map it →

Five cities.
Over $1 million in contracts.

See the full breakdown, city by city: cameras, cost and contract terms.

See the true scale →

What is Flock?

Not Just Cameras. Constant Surveillance.

Video explaining how Flock Safety ALPR cameras track and record drivers

Warrantless Tracking

Police can search where you’ve been without a warrant or probable cause. Your daily routine becomes searchable by default.

30-Day Retention

Data on where you've been is stored for 30 days minimum. History shows retention limits almost always expand.

Privatized Data

Flock is a private company that controls the network. Local data from the Quad Cities can be shared with outside agencies, beyond local oversight.

The Error Rate

License plate readers make mistakes. A dirty plate or bad scan can turn an innocent driver into a police target.

Targeting the Vulnerable

Surveillance is rarely deployed evenly. It’s most often used against minority communities, immigrants, and protesters.

Taxpayer Drain

Each camera costs taxpayers thousands per year. That money should fund schools, roads, and real public safety not mass surveillance.

It's Not Theoretical

Abuse is Already Happening.

AP News

Police Chief Arrested for Stalking

A Georgia police chief was arrested and charged with using the city's license plate readers to stalk and harass citizens, proving that access to these systems is easily abused by those in power.

Read Story →
EFF Investigation

"Missing Person" Pretext for Abortion Search

A Texas sheriff falsely flagged a search as a "missing person" case to track a woman's travel for an abortion investigation, bypassing privacy safeguards and falsifying audit logs.

Read Story →
404 Media

ICE Taps into Nationwide Camera Network

Records reveal local police are running searches on behalf of ICE for immigration enforcement, giving federal agents side-door access to community data without a formal contract.

Read Story →

"But I Have
Nothing to Hide."

Privacy isn’t about hiding crimes. It’s about having boundaries between your life and the government. Boundaries that disappear once mass surveillance becomes normal.

Privacy Is Not Secrecy

You lock your phone. You close your curtains. You expect your movements not to be recorded because your life isn’t public property.

Suspect By Default

In a free society, the government needs a reason to watch someone. Mass surveillance flips that principle. Recording everyone first, questioning later.

A Persistent Record

Once your movements are stored, they can be searched, shared, or misused now or years from now by people you didn’t elect.

This Is the Moment.

Surveillance systems don't disappear quietly. They grow unless people stop them early. Make your voice heard and demand the removal of the Flock Safety cameras from our communities.

1

Sign the Petition

2

Contact Officials

City councils control the contracts. Email your own council member and the mayor. Every email link below opens a message that’s already written.

Before you hit send, fill in the parts in [brackets]: your name, your ward, and a sentence on why this matters to you. A personal line from a real constituent is what gets read.

Bettendorf, IA

Find your ward Council List

Five ward council members and two at-large. Email your ward’s member, both at-large members and the mayor.

Email the whole council Use Gmail

Meetings: 1st & 3rd Tuesdays, 7:00 PM

Where: Bettendorf City Hall
1609 State Street

Davenport, IA

Find your ward Council List

Eight ward aldermen and two at-large. Email your ward’s alderman, both at-large members and the mayor. The council office is (563) 888-2066.

Email the whole council Use Gmail

Meetings: Committee of the Whole 1st & 3rd Wed, City Council 2nd & 4th Wed, 5:30 PM

Where: City Hall Council Chambers
226 West 4th Street

East Moline, IL

Find your ward Council List

One alderman for each of seven wards. Email your ward’s alderman and the mayor.

Email the whole council Use Gmail

Meetings: 1st & 3rd Monday, 6:30 PM

Where: City Hall Council Chambers
915 16th Avenue

Moline, IL

Find your ward Council List

Moline paused Flock in September 2026. Ask the council to make it permanent. Seven ward alderpersons and one at-large: email your ward’s alderperson, the at-large member and the mayor.

Email the whole council Use Gmail

Meetings: Tuesdays, 6:00 PM

Where: City Hall Council Chambers
619 16th Street

Rock Island, IL

Find your ward Council List

One alderman for each of seven wards. Email your ward’s alderman and the mayor.

Email the whole council Use Gmail

Meetings: 2nd & 4th Monday, 5:45 PM

Where: City Hall Council Chambers
1528 Third Ave

The message, for your city

Calling instead? Give your name and ward, ask them to end the Flock contract and not replace it with another company’s cameras, and ask where they stand.

3

Spread the Word

Surveillance thrives in silence. Share this campaign with your friends and neighbors. While social media is easier to post to, we encourage talking directly to people in your life.

Share Image Printable Flyer
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FAQ

Common questions about Flock Safety cameras and what they mean for the Quad Cities.

Still have questions?

Reach out to your local city council member using the information above.

Don't these cameras help solve crimes?

One study found ALPR expansion did not reduce violent crime overall. A randomized controlled experiment run by the Police Executive Research Forum in Mesa, AZ found that even though ALPRs produced more "hits" during targeted patrols, it did not translate into less auto theft in the areas studied.

The ACLU's nationwide review of tens of millions of scans found a hit rate of just 0.01–0.08%. More than 99% of every plate scanned belongs to someone not suspected of any crime.

What about finding stolen cars?

According to one report, there is no statistical evidence that ALPRs have deterred motor theft and there isn't even a moderate correlation between ALPRs and stolen vehicle recoveries. Nationwide, out of tens of millions of plate scans reviewed by the ACLU, the hit rate for any kind of match, stolen vehicle or otherwise, was just 0.01–0.08%.

How is this different from traffic cameras?

Traffic cameras typically just snap a photo when someone runs a red light. Flock is a search engine for the physical world. It tracks everyone, stores the data, and hooks it into a nationwide searchable database accessible by thousands of people.

Who has access to this data?

Local police have primary access, but data is shared with hundreds of other agencies across the country including ICE. These systems are also often targets of data breaches and hacks.

Do police need a warrant to search the database?

No. This is one of the core issues. Officers can search the database at any time, for any reason, without a warrant or judicial oversight.

How much do we pay for these cameras?

Public records show the five largest Quad Cities have signed more than $1 million in Flock contracts, costing about $264,000 every year, and those contracts auto-renew. Volunteers have independently mapped at least 98 ALPR cameras (see the map above), while city documents put the count at 115 camera feeds. With records still pending for smaller towns, the real numbers are likely higher.

Can we really get these removed?

Yes. These are contracts approved by city councils. When enough residents of the Quad Cities demand it, the contracts can be cancelled or not renewed.

Have other cities successfully removed cameras?

Yes. Communities across the country have been successful at removing these systems. Oak Park, Illinois terminated their contract in August. Flag Staff, Arizona and Olympia, Washington in December. And more have ended their contracts with Flock after strong local pushback. The Quad Cities will be next.