A version of the following article appeared in the August 21, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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LEDGER IN-DEPTH
Flock’s around, but who’s finding out? License plate cameras have arrived in Charlotte, bringing with them concerns over privacy and oversight.
The Ledger tracked down two Flock cameras installed at Grier Park Apartments, managed by Westminster Co., in Grier Heights using Deflock, a volunteer project that maps Flock cameras spotted nationwide. (Photo by Lindsey Banks/The Charlotte Ledger)
by Lindsey Banks
They’re showing up along Charlotte roads, outside neighborhoods, across from parks and even outside The Home Depot near Grier Heights – small oval-shaped cameras, usually attached to thin black poles with a solar panel, quietly snapping license plates as cars pass by.
These particular cameras, from Flock Safety, have made recent local and national headlines for a variety of reasons – privacy concerns, misuse of data by law enforcement but also instances in which data from the cameras helped solve a crime or locate a missing person.
But the technology is spreading faster than the the law can keep up with, industry experts told The Ledger, and regulation and potential violations of constitutional rights are being determined in real time.
There’s no clear public accounting of Flock cameras in Charlotte, and the company won’t disclose their locations or who operates them. Meanwhile, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department says it doesn’t own any of the cameras but can access data collected by cameras belonging to other agencies and private entities without a warrant.
That growing network – and the lack of clear rules surrounding it – is raising questions about how closely Charlotte drivers are being watched and what, if anything, protects their privacy.
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