Why Are There Flock Cameras in Northern Michigan?

Manistee — Last week, I drove around rural Northern Michigan on a quest. I went to some of the most remote locations in my area, from barren dunes to empty riverbanks and desolate roadsides. I found something scattered across Northern Michigan in places you wouldn’t expect: Flock cameras.

Flock cameras are really a stand-in for a whole bunch of different platforms operated by Flock Safety, a controversial tech company that’s been the subject of public scrutiny. While they do offer some insane products, like facial recognition cameras, drone first responders, and gunshot detectors, the “Flock cameras” in Northern Michigan are automatic license plate readers, or ALPRS.

They take photos of the license plate of every car that passes, 24/7. At night they use infrared to take photos. When a photo is taken, Flock’s AI checks to make sure the license plate is correct and then uploads it to a database that law enforcement can access.

The cameras themselves are not particularly new. Michigan has thousands of Flock cameras, mainly located in Detroit and a few other southern Michigan cities.

What made them interesting was the location—these cameras were in the middle of nowhere. One was at Ludington State Park Beach. Another was located on M-55 out of Manistee.

The final camera was between Buckley and Mesick. These are not populated areas. They are actually some of the more remote parts of northwest Michigan, making it strange that Flock cameras were placed there.

To be clear, Flock is not in charge of where these cameras go. Governments contract with Flock, which then install the cameras. While Flock maintains the software and database, it’s ultimately up to local governments to either approve or deny these cameras. But why do rural city and county governments want to put up cameras in the middle of nowhere?

Ostensibly, the cameras help police solve crimes. Police can use them to see who was in an area during certain times and can help ID cars involved in hit and runs, kidnappings, drug trafficking, and other criminal activity.

But Flock cameras also have other purposes, hence the controversy. By placing Flock cameras in rural areas, counties, and cities can surveil their citizens. Indeed, these cameras have been implicated in numerous breaches of power by government officials across the country.

I saw Flock cameras in low-crime areas. The likelihood of them being used to solve a case is low. But placing cameras in these areas adds to the surveillance “map” that police can call upon to potentially track people.

Whether this is a good thing depends on your own beliefs. Do you think there should be a trade-off between privacy and safety? Are these rural cameras worth the cost?

I’ll let you be the judge. But when you are driving around the country, keep an eye out for Flock cameras, because there are more than you think.