image credit: Flock Safety

Do you feel safer letting a private company spy on your neighbors?

If Flock’s neighborhood surveillance program reminds you of police cam-share programs give yourself a gold star.

Earlier this year, I warned everyone that there are at least twenty-seven different types of police cam-share programs that use CCTV cameras to spy on the public. (To learn more about police cam-share programs click here & here.)

Crunchbase revealed that Flock’s business model is a mirror image of police cam-share programs which are sprouting up across the country.

“Flock Safety aims to build a neighborhood watch based on cameras rather than watchful human eyes.”

Thanks to companies like Flock Safety, entire neighborhoods are using CCTV cameras equipped with license plate readers to spy on everyone.

image credit: Flock Safety

“Peachtree Park deployed a network of Flock Safety’s wireless outdoor license plate reading cameras so in the event of criminal activity they could know not just who was in the neighborhood but also what car was on the specific street the crime occurred.  With over 10 cameras deployed, they are able to track over 3,000 cars a day.”

Flock’s surveillance cameras, were designed specifically to spy on U.S. neighborhoods.

“Flock Safety was designed in the United States specifically for neighborhoods.”

How much worse can things get?

In the near-future Flock’s surveillance cameras will be equipped with facial recognition and there is no way to opt-out.

It is bad enough that police in Florida are encouraging neighbors to use CCTV cameras to spy on everyone but now corporations are doing it.

Companies like Amazon, use thousands of camera-equipped doorbells called Ring to create a network of spying neighbors.

“Ring a company on a mission to reduce crime in neighborhoods, today launched the Neighbors app on iOS and Android to provide every neighbor with real-time, local crime and safety information. Previously only available in the Ring app, the Neighbors network already has millions of users and has been instrumental in catching package thieves, stopping burglaries, and keeping neighborhoods safe. Police and sheriff’s departments throughout the U.S. are also joining the network as a new way to share real-time crime and safety alerts with their communities. ”    

Make no mistake, police and communities can use corporate CCTV cameras to “profile” or “watchlist” anyone and no one will be the wiser

This is no longer a conspiracy theory, law enforcement is using private corporations to turn entire neighborhoods into mini-spy centers.

The name ‘Flock Safety’ made me laugh, for one it seems to be a parody of America’s flock mentality when it comes to public safety and two I thought this image says it all. [Lead Image: “Multimedia Birds of a Feather” ]