TERMINATE ISU’s contract with Flock Safety!
Iowa State University
Iowa State University currently has a contract with Flock Safety and has at least 36 known Flock cameras throughout property owned by the University.
According to Flock Safety - Iowa State University IA PD Transparency Portal, a website that is managed by Flock, they have a policy to retain information for 30 days. This differs from other ALPR’s. ALPRs delete data immediately if a license plate search is unsuccessful. Retaining data is an unprecedented violation of our right to privacy, and the ways in which software like this can be misused is limitless. Occurrences of Intimate Partner Surveillance, the use of Flock’s network to track abortion seekers, and the use of Flock data to track the activity of activists are only a few examples of how this system has been abused in other locations.
All of this can be done in a warrantless search with the help of Flock. The policy governing ALPRs is the Iowa State University Department of Public Safety’s Policy and Procedure General Order 6.19 Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) Flock.
ISUDPS 6.19- ALPR - FLOCK - Iowa State University (IA) - PowerDMS
This states that:
“The Department respects privacy rights and will ensure its use of ALPR technology first and
foremost protects those rights.”
A system that is inherently based on tracking and recording EVERY vehicle that travels through areas that this contract places under surveillance can not possibly be used in a way that respects OR protects our privacy rights.
Have I Been Flocked? – Search Flock ALPR Audit Logs
To be a part of the fight against Flock, join Organizing for Freedom’s Discord!
Petition by
To:
Iowa State University
From:
[Your Name]
We call for Iowa State University to terminate its contract with Flock and remove Flock cameras from all university property.
Flock cameras are tools of mass surveillance that infringe on the safety and security of the American public. Their automatic license plate reader (ALPR or LPR) software captures inordinate data on every vehicle within view of the camera. Unlike other ALPR systems, Flock constantly records and does not immediately delete and flush data if a license plate search is unsuccessful.
Flock’s vast data collection system creates a disturbingly comprehensive map of Americans’ comings and goings. AI systems catalogue unique features of the vehicle including license plate numbers, make and model, additions to the vehicle like roof racks and imperfections such as scratches. Data is collected without regard to actual criminal concern. Fewer than 1% of vehicles catalogued by ALPRs are involved in a crime. Flock’s constant monitoring lacks oversight, denies Americans rights to data privacy and oversteps reasonable monitoring by law enforcement agencies.
The Iowa State University Transparency Portal database designed and hosted by Flock provides claims about the usage and storage of data with few tools to ensure accountability. Nationwide, poor oversight and unregulated use of the National Crime Information Center network and other databases has allowed for widespread abuse of Flock data. Law enforcement officers have used Flock data to stalk romantic partners. Law enforcement has allowed ICE unregulated “side door” access to Flock data. Poor parameters and communication by Flock itself has allowed agencies to access data that local law enforcement thought was secure.
Flock’s cameras are creating concern that spans the nation and crosses party lines. Across the country, communities are passing bans, cancelling contracts and proposing regulation for good reason. Flock’s widespread surveillance misidentifies 1 in 10 catalogued vehicles. Failures in their systems have created a public trust and safety crisis. The public is regularly pulled over or detained based on errors and, in multiple cases, held at gunpoint.
Even if Iowa State University’s police department has not misused Flock data themselves, they remain complicit in its abuse, misuse and failings. ISU’s Transparency Portal states that it has 36 LPR cameras (as of Aug. 9, 2026), all of which constantly monitor the public. Participating in data collection and prolonged data storage storage by Flock places the communities that ISU PD serves in danger.
We, the undersigned, call for ISU to terminate its contract with Flock for the safety of the ISU and Ames communities,