Flock Cameras Now Blanket America’s Roads, and Georgia Leads the Nation in Density

Automated license plate readers have quietly become one of the most widespread surveillance tools on American roads. Flock Safety dominates the market, and its cameras now sit in nearly every corner of the country. Police credit the technology with solving crimes, while critics point to documented abuses and a growing push in Congress to rein it in.

What Automated License Plate Readers Actually Do

Automated license plate readers (ALPRs) are high-speed camera systems that photograph every license plate that passes them. On their own, they capture a simple snapshot of a car at a single moment. Once agencies network the cameras together and pair them with specialized software, however, they can reconstruct where a vehicle has traveled over days or weeks.

The technology first emerged in the United Kingdom in the mid-1970s to aid terrorism investigations. Public safety agencies across the United States now use it widely. That history matters because a tool built for narrow security purposes has evolved into routine, everyday monitoring of ordinary drivers.

Flock Safety Leads the Market

Flock Safety, which began in 2017, is the leading ALPR vendor in the country. The company estimates that law enforcement agencies used its cameras to help with more than 1 million investigations in 2025. That figure shows how deeply the technology has embedded itself in daily police work.

The track record is not spotless, though. Multiple investigations have examined stalking and misconduct by law enforcement involving the company’s technology. Those cases have raised a basic question about who can search the data and for what reasons. As a result, some lawmakers in Congress have proposed bills to regulate ALPRs more tightly, and some would ban them outright.

Where the Cameras Are Concentrated

The data on camera counts shows a striking spread across the states. Georgia tops the list with about 80 Flock cameras per 100,000 residents, or 8,944 cameras serving a population of roughly 11.2 million. Ohio follows with 51 per 100,000 and 6,024 cameras. Texas comes next at 49 per 100,000, backed by 15,318 cameras.

Several other states also post high per-capita rates. Indiana records 48 per 100,000 with 3,328 cameras, and Alabama follows at 47 with 2,448 cameras. Kansas and Tennessee both register 43 per 100,000, while Illinois posts 42 with 5,320 cameras. Missouri rounds out the group at 40 per 100,000.

Big States, Different Pictures

Raw totals and per-capita rates tell different stories. California has the largest camera count in the data at 15,450, just ahead of Texas. Because its population is about 39.4 million, that works out to 39 cameras per 100,000 residents, well below Georgia’s density.

Florida shows a similar pattern with 7,520 cameras but a rate of only 32 per 100,000. Smaller states can still show meaningful coverage. Delaware has 327 cameras and a rate of 31, while Rhode Island has 294 at 26. Washington and Iowa each register 25 per 100,000, with 1,959 and 796 cameras respectively.

Why the Debate Matters

The numbers underline how quickly a once-specialized tool has become routine infrastructure. Every state in the data carries a substantial network, and the rates in Colorado (36), Kentucky (35), and South Carolina (35) show the technology reaching well beyond a handful of heavily policed regions. Each additional camera adds another point on the map that investigators can use to trace a vehicle’s movements.

Supporters argue that this reach helps agencies solve cases, and the company’s 1 million investigation estimate reflects that claim. Critics counter that the same capacity to track people over days or weeks invites misuse, as the stalking and misconduct probes demonstrate. With lawmakers in Congress weighing tighter rules or outright bans, the next chapter for Flock cameras will likely turn on how the country balances public safety against personal privacy.