Learning

A curated tour through the videos, articles, and journalism that explain Flock Safety and ALPR surveillance. We start with the most useful pieces and add more as we find them. Watch a video, read a few articles, then come back when you have time — there’s a lot here and you don’t have to absorb it all at once. The full index of every source we cite lives on the Resources page.

Where to start

If you have 15 minutes: watch the featured video below. It explains how a private surveillance network actually works — not the marketing, the reality.

If you have 30 minutes more: read the ProgressNow NM statewide piece for the New Mexico policy picture, then skim the local coverage for context on what's happening in our area.

If you want the full picture: the Resources page has every source we cite, grouped by type of source (local, national, civil-liberties, company materials, government documents, tools). Use it as a reference — you don't need to read it top to bottom.

Video education

Business Reform is a YouTube channel that covers Flock and other private surveillance companies in depth. We feature their videos here because they explain the business model, the contracts, and the data-sharing issues better than almost anything else out there.

Featured · Business Reform

Public Officials Fear This: How YOU Can Use Surveillance Data Against Them

Business Reform

Sanibel Police Refuse Open Records Request on Flock Safety Cameras

More videos from Business Reform on YouTube →

Local & statewide coverage

Curated links to news and analysis relevant to Flock and ALPR surveillance in our area and New Mexico. The full index of every source we cite lives on the Resources page.

Local

2nd Life Media Alamogordo

Alamogordo murder case: swift arrest of Matthew Weems and expanding crime

2ndlifemediaalamogordo.town.news

Local coverage of an arrest where ALPR data was cited. Included for context on how the system is being framed and used in our area — not as an endorsement of mass surveillance. Note the article’s mention of HOA- and business-purchased Flock cameras feeding the regional network: that’s the deployment model worth understanding.

Statewide

Progress Now New Mexico

Privacy first: how NM can set guardrails on Flock cameras and surveillance tech

progressnownm.org

Statewide policy framing: what guardrails New Mexico could put in place, what the current legislative landscape looks like, and where Flock is already deployed across the state (Alamogordo, Otero County, Bernalillo County, Taos, Las Cruces). Best single piece for understanding the bigger picture in NM.

Comparable cities

9NEWS (Denver)

Denver City Council members audit police department license plate camera data usage

9news.com

Example of a city council auditing ALPR use after the fact — a model Alamogordo residents can ask our own council to follow. Useful for anyone drafting a public comment or a Commissioner email.

Organizations tracking ALPRs

Civil-liberties organizations and community projects doing ongoing work on ALPRs. The full list of every org, tool, and template we cite is on the Resources page.

EFF — Surveillance — investigative reporting and policy work on ALPRs.
ACLU — Privacy & Technology — litigation, including Nguyen v. State.
Atlas of Surveillance (EFF) — a searchable database of surveillance technologies deployed by local governments, including ALPRs. Useful for checking what your city is actually running.
DeFlock — open-source community project that maps license plate readers across the US. Also publishes FOIA request templates and a guide to filing records requests in your state.
Business Reform — investigative YouTube channel and site covering Flock and other private surveillance companies. Their Open Records Template for ALPR documents was the starting point for our own NM IPRA template. Watch on YouTube.
Flock Watch — community-run map of known Flock cameras.