The Flock Toolkit
See how many automated license-plate readers would photograph your vehicle on any drive across Wisconsin. Camera locations are pulled live from the DeFlock dataset on OpenStreetMap and refreshed daily, so the map keeps up as cameras are added and removed.
Tool not loading? Open it full-screen → Data: OpenStreetMap / DeFlock contributors.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Flock camera / ALPR?
An ALPR (Automated License Plate Reader) is a camera that photographs every passing vehicle, reads the plate with computer vision, and records the plate number, a vehicle "fingerprint" (make, color, body type, bumper stickers, roof racks), the time, and the location. Flock Safety is the dominant vendor, but Motorola/Vigilant, Genetec, and Axis sell comparable systems. A single device commonly captures several images of each vehicle that passes.
Where does this map's data come from? Is it accurate?
Locations come from OpenStreetMap via the DeFlock project, which crowdsources ALPR positions that volunteers verify in the field. This site queries the same public Overpass dataset and refreshes daily. It is comprehensive but not perfect: coverage is strongest in mapped areas, a camera may be added before it appears here, and a removed camera may linger until a mapper updates it. Treat it as a strong floor, not a guarantee.
Is it legal for these cameras to track me?
Generally yes — driving on public roads carries a reduced expectation of privacy, and courts have largely permitted ALPR use. The controversy is about scale and retention: continuous, automated logging of everyone's movements, pooled into a national, searchable network that thousands of agencies can query, with little notice or local oversight. That is a policy question for your city council and county board, which is where the accountability work happens.
How long is my data kept, and who can see it?
Retention is set by each agency's policy — often 30 days, but that resets every time you pass a camera, so for a regular commuter the practical retention is "always." Through Flock's network and formal sharing agreements, a local installation can be searchable by thousands of other agencies nationwide. Exactly who has access in your jurisdiction is a proper subject for an open-records request (see below).
Can I get a camera removed or see the policy behind it?
Removal is a local political decision — it takes a council or board willing to end or decline the contract. What you can do today is demand the paperwork: the contract, the data-sharing and retention policy, the audit logs, and the authorization vote (or absence of one). Those records are how you show the public what was approved and how it is actually used. The request builder on the Open Records page is built for exactly this.
How is the "photos taken" number calculated?
The tool routes your trip, finds cameras within a short distance of the path, and counts a pass for each. Round trips double the count. The image estimate uses a conservative average of several shots per camera per pass. It is an illustration of exposure, not an exact forensic figure.
Terminology
- ALPR / ANPR
- Automated (Automatic) License Plate Reader/Recognition — the camera-plus-software that reads and logs plates.
- Hotlist
- A watchlist of plates that triggers an alert when seen. Hotlists range from stolen-vehicle files to locally added plates.
- NCIC
- The FBI's National Crime Information Center. Many ALPR reads are checked against NCIC files automatically.
- Retention
- How long captured reads are stored before deletion. Resets on each new capture for frequent travelers.
- Audit log
- The record of who searched the system, when, and why. The single most important document for accountability — and the one agencies are most reluctant to produce.
- Network / sharing
- Agreements that let other agencies search your local cameras' data. "National lookup" means far more than local eyes.
- Vehicle fingerprint
- Non-plate identifiers (make, color, body style, stickers, damage) that let the system track a car even without a readable plate.
- Custodian
- The official legally responsible for responding to your public-records request.
How Records Custodians Play the Long Game
Wisconsin's Public Records Law (Wis. Stat. §§ 19.31–19.39) says records must be produced "as soon as practicable and without delay." In practice, custodians who would rather not produce ALPR records lean on a familiar set of stalls. Here is the playbook — and how to get past each move.
1. "Please clarify or narrow your request."
The move: Your request is called vague, so the clock effectively resets while they wait on you. Repeated for weeks.
Get past it: Be specific from the start — name the record types (contract, data-sharing agreement, retention policy, audit logs), the system (Flock/Vigilant), and a date range. If they ask to narrow, answer in writing the same day and restate that the duty to produce non-disputed portions continues. You are allowed to be precise and broad.
2. "This will be expensive — here's a deposit."
The move: A large fee estimate or upfront deposit designed to make you go away. Sometimes "programming" or "review" charges that aren't allowed.
Get past it: Fees are capped at the actual, necessary cost of location and reproduction; Wisconsin does not let agencies bill you for their lawyer's redaction-review time. Ask for an itemized basis for any charge over $5 before they proceed, request electronic copies (which should be near-free), and ask for a fee waiver where release benefits the public. Make them justify every line.
3. "It will take months."
The move: An open-ended timeline with no end date, treating "without delay" as optional.
Get past it: Ask, in writing, for a specific completion date and for rolling production — records released in batches as they're ready, not all-or-nothing at the end. Unreasonable delay is itself a denial you can act on. Document every date.
4. "We don't have those records" / "that's the vendor's."
The move: Claiming audit logs or usage data live with Flock, not the agency, to dodge the request.
Get past it: Records made or kept on the agency's behalf are still public records even when a contractor hosts them. Ask specifically for data the agency can export from its own Flock dashboard, and ask them to state in writing if they are claiming no responsive records exist — that statement is a denial you can challenge.
5. Over-redaction and silent withholding.
The move: Heavy redactions or withheld documents with no explanation, hoping you won't ask.
Get past it: The law requires a written statement of the specific reason for each denial or redaction. Demand it. A redaction without a stated, record-specific legal basis is reviewable — and the requester who prevails can recover costs and fees.
6. The slow-walk hoping you quit.
The move: Each step takes the maximum time, betting you lose interest.
Get past it: Keep a dated paper trail of every contact. If stalled, you can seek help from the local District Attorney or the Wisconsin Attorney General's Office of Open Government, or pursue a mandamus action to compel release. Persistence is the whole game — and the statute puts the cost of losing on them.
This is general information about Wisconsin's public records law, not legal advice.
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