How it works

Some key terms

What they installed and what it does

ALPR

Automated License Plate Reader. A camera that records every vehicle that passes, logging your plate, location, direction, and timestamp. It stores information about bumper stickers and dents on the vehicle creating a "fingerprint". This data is stored and shareable nationwide.

Raven

Flock's gunshot detector. According to Flock's own website it listens 24/7 and sends audio clips to Flock's servers when it thinks it hears a shot. It also records ambient sound continuously. The Village of Hempstead is estimated to have over 150 of these installed.

Flock Safety

A private Atlanta-based company. They own and operate the network. Your data goes to their servers — not just the Village's. Flock can share it with any agency on their platform. There are other companies who have similar devices but Flock has become one of the biggest names in surveillance technology.

DFR

Stands for Drone as First Responder. A drone that launches automatically when triggered by a 911 call. It is advertised as only responding to distress calls however, Hempstead's own dashboard shows that the Drone is routinely flown without reason.

FOIL

New York's Freedom of Information Law. It gives every resident the legal right to request public records from government agencies. If the Village won't tell you what cameras they have or what they cost, FOIL is how you make them.

Hotlist

A database of flagged license plates: stolen vehicles, open warrants, watchlists. Every plate the camera sees gets checked against the databased instantly. A "hit" triggers a police response.Sometimes without any further verification.

Data Sharing

Flock operates a national network. A plate scanned in Hempstead can be queried by any of the thousands of law enforcement agencies on their platform, local, state, and federal. The public has no way of knowing who has looked you up or why.

Geofencing

The ability to pull every plate scanned within a specific area during a specific time window. Attend a protest, a church, a medical clinic, or a political meeting and that presence can be reconstructed from camera data after the fact.

Data Retention

How long your scan data is stored and who can access it. Flock's default is 30 days, but agencies can extend it. The Village of Hempstead has never publicly disclosed their retention policy — meaning your location history could be stored indefinitely without your knowledge.

What Gets Captured

Every Vehicle Passing Through Is Logged

Flock Safety's license plate readers don't just read your plate — they build a record of your movement through the village. That data is stored, searchable, and shareable across law enforcement agencies without a warrant.

License plate number

Full plate read with timestamp and GPS coordinates, logged every time you pass a reader.

Vehicle make, model & color

AI identifies your car's characteristics — not just your plate.

Direction of travel

Where you came from and where you were going, reconstructed from multiple readers.

Shared across agencies

Data is pooled in a regional network accessible to other police departments and federal agencies — without a warrant.

How is Flock used?

Officers can search via an app using a plate number or description of the vehicle. No warrant is required and they do not always give a reason.

It's as easy as a Google search. Officers access Flock through a phone app or web browser. They type in a plate number and instantly see every location that vehicle has been scanned across the entire Flock network nationwide.

No warrants are required, sometimes even no supervisor or paperwork. There is no judge to approve the search, no required justification, and no automatic record of why an officer looked someone up. The only thing standing between your location history being searched is an officer deciding to do a search on you.

The search goes further than Hempstead. Because Flock is a shared national network, and the Village has not disclosed its data retention policy, a search doesn't just return local scans. An officer here can pull data from cameras in other towns, counties, and states and officers anywhere can pull data from here.

You will never know you were searched. There is no notification system, no way to check if your plate has been looked up, and no public audit log. The Village of Hempstead has never released records showing how often the system is accessed or for what purposes.

Know What to Look For

The 7 Types of Surveillance Devices

Hempstead's network includes seven distinct categories. Here's how to identify them.

Gunshot Detector

212

Acoustic sensors that detect the sound signature of gunshots and triangulate the location within seconds. ShotSpotter and Flock Safety acoustic units.

PTZ Camera

210

Pan-Tilt-Zoom cameras that can rotate 360° and zoom in on specific targets. Remotely controlled by operators. Often at intersections on utility poles.

License Plate Reader

Flock Safety Falcon cameras on slim poles with solar panels at 10–14 ft height. Capture every vehicle's plate, make, model, and color. Self-contained, no wiring required.

Fixed Camera

Stationary box cameras fixed at a single angle. Permanently mounted on poles or building exteriors to monitor specific locations. Always recording.

Mobile Trailer

Towable trailers with telescoping masts, solar panels, cameras, and LPR equipment. Deployed temporarily at specific locations — events, construction zones, or high-patrol areas.

Private / Commercial

Cameras owned by private businesses or residents integrated into the Village network or shared with police through data-sharing agreements.

Drone (1 in service, 7 planned)

Unmanned aerial vehicles planned for deployment. Capable of following individuals, reading plates from the air, and providing aerial surveillance of any location.

Your Data

What Happens After You're Captured

Being recorded is only the first step. Storage, access, and sharing multiply the risk.

30-Day Retention (Default)

Flock Safety's default contract stores license plate data for 30 days. There is no public record of Hempstead's specific retention policy.

Searchable by Any Officer

Any credentialed officer in the network can run a search — not just local police. This includes officers from other jurisdictions and federal agencies.

No Warrant Required

Accessing historical location data from Flock's database does not currently require a warrant in New York. It is treated as "business records."

ICE Access Documented

ICE has been documented accessing Flock Safety networks in other jurisdictions to track individuals, including in self-declared sanctuary communities.

No Opt-Out

There is no way to opt out of being scanned when you drive through the village. Your location data is logged regardless of whether you are suspected of anything.

No Public Audit

The Village has not published any audit of how the system is used, who has accessed it, or how many searches have been run. We are working to change that through FOIL.