Get the Flock Out of Wilmington
Our streets are scanned by AI cameras that track every driver, every day — with no warrant, no consent, and no way to opt out. DeFlockILM gives you a simple way to demand your leaders shut it down, so your everyday life stays your own.
Monday, August 17 · 4:00 PM
Show up and you’re part of a coast-to-coast movement. Five speakers is a comment period. Twenty-five is a moment the board can’t ignore.
You did nothing wrong. They’re tracking you anyway.
Wilmington and New Hanover County have installed Flock cameras — Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) that photograph every passing vehicle and log its location, date, and time, along with your car’s make, model, color, and distinctive features like dents, roof racks, and bumper stickers.
This data is collected on drivers regardless of whether anyone is suspected of a crime. Marketed as crime-fighting tools, these cameras ignore the warrant-based methods police already have — and instead give the government the power to track all of us, all the time, without a judge.
No Warrant
Officers can pull your movement history without probable cause or a judge’s review.
No Consent
Your data is captured without your knowledge — and there is no way to opt out.
No Limits
A network of cameras builds a real-time “pattern of life” map of where you go.
What this technology really does
Two short videos on how ubiquitous ALPR surveillance works — and why it matters here.
The cost of doing nothing
Surveillance infrastructure, once installed, is rarely removed — and its uses only expand. Here’s what we lose if the grid stays.
- ✕The grid becomes permanent. Once cameras are normal, being tracked becomes normal too.
- ✕Your patterns of life are logged — where you worship, seek medical care, organize, and sleep — accessible without a warrant.
- ✕Your data travels. It can be shared with third parties, other states, and federal agencies — sometimes in violation of policy or law.
- ✕Innocent people get hurt. Misreads have led to wrongful arrests, cars wrongly flagged as stolen, and families held at gunpoint.
- ✕You pay for it. Taxpayers fund the very system that surveils them.
Three steps to take it back
Stopping mass surveillance sounds huge. It comes down to three things anyone can do this week.
Learn the facts
Read the talking points and the county’s own public records so you can speak with confidence.
Sign the petition
Add your name to the residents calling for Flock’s removal. It takes one minute.
Tell your leaders
Send a ready-to-edit email to your County Commissioners — and show up to a meeting.
Backed by the record. Grounded in the law.
DeFlockILM isn’t speculation. It’s built on public documents, Supreme Court precedent, and communities that already said no.
Privacy, restored.
- ✓The cameras come down and the county cancels its Flock contract.
- ✓You drive freely — to the clinic, to church, to a meeting — with no record created.
- ✓Public safety respects the Constitution and requires a judge, not a database.
- ✓Wilmington becomes the community that recognized the line and refused to cross it.
Ready to reclaim your privacy?
One signature. One email. One meeting at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a group fighting Flock cameras in Wilmington?
Yes — DeFlockILM is the citizen-led group working to remove Flock ALPR surveillance cameras from Wilmington and New Hanover County, NC. You’re on it.
Does New Hanover County use Flock cameras?
Yes. The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office holds the county’s Flock contract (#25-0364); records show its network was searched roughly 2.98 million times in ~16 months. See the records.
Can I opt out of being scanned?
No — every vehicle is logged, with no opt-out. What you can do is help get the cameras removed: sign the petition and email your leaders.
How do I take action in Wilmington?
The County Commissioners who fund the contract meet Monday, August 17. Come speak, email them and Sheriff McMahon, and sign the petition. Here’s exactly how.
You’re not a suspect. So stop being tracked like one.
It takes one minute. Add your name, then tell your county commissioners to cancel the Flock contract.