Press Release - 8/3/2026
Flock Safety Resistance Group Petitioning Woodstock City Council to Cancel Surveillance Camera Contracts
At upcoming event, community movement hopes to educate the public and appeal to city government about the harms of mass surveillance data gathering
WOODSTOCK, Ill., August 3, 2026 — Following a growing nationwide trend of resistance leading to cancelled municipal contracts, a bipartisan group has formed in Woodstock, Illinois to oppose Flock Safety cameras in their small town. In February 2026, Woodstock City Council voted to place Flock Safety surveillance cameras around the Woodstock Square, despite strong public outcry and calls for less expensive and invasive crime control measures.
In response, local resistance group Stop Flock in Woodstock created a petition called “We want Flock Safety out of Woodstock IL,” which demands that the City of Woodstock end all contracts with Flock Safety, including networked traffic capturing and AI-controlled public surveillance cameras. The petition also asks that after proper due diligence and community input, the city find a reputable vendor to provide a closed-circuit camera option.
The group objects to:
Flock Safety’s poor hardware security and access controls, revealed in reporting to allow people to easily hack the cameras and their data.
Several reported instances of Flock Safety’s AI systems misidentifying license plates, leading law enforcement to pursue or arrest citizens in error.
Flock Safety’s business model of aggregating, sharing and selling data, including to over 466 jurisdictions across Illinois. This practice resulted in multiple cases of law enforcement stalking nationwide, including at least four in Illinois and one in McHenry County.
Potential violations of the public’s Fourth Amendment rights through Flock Safety’s practices of tracking and sharing timestamped location and detailed metadata of all vehicles and people passing any one of their nationwide and quickly growing network of 120,000+ sensors.
Many reported instances of Flock Safety representatives making misleading or untrue statements to potential customers and security and privacy advocates, including understating the actual identifying and tracking capabilities of their products.
“We’re not anti-police or anti-camera,” said Don Francis, a member of Stop Flock in Woodstock. “But we’re very concerned about Flock Safety’s data-gathering and what they do with that data. We believe mass surveillance and data collection on this scale infringes on our Fourth Amendment right to privacy, and we are hoping our elected officials will listen to their constituents about this.”
After spending the summer educating the public and collecting signatures on the Woodstock Square, the group will submit their petition during the August 18 Woodstock City Council meeting, 7 p.m. at Woodstock City Hall, City Council chambers, 121 W Calhoun St in Woodstock.
Directly before the August 18 city council meeting, the group is hosting a community presentation and Q&A session event at 6 p.m. called “No Flocks Left to Give” at The Records Department, 315 E South St. in Woodstock. Attendees are encouraged to walk from the event to Woodstock City Hall to present the petition as a group.
Stop Flock in Woodstock believes a strong show of support for their cause will bolster the effectiveness of their petition and is encouraging the public to both RSVP to the event and sign the online petition.
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Stop Flock in Woodstock Media Contact: Don Francis