East Memphis flock cameras sawn in half at Eastgate Center
Multiple Flock Safety license plate readers were found destroyed, highlighting growing tension over police tracking technology.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A vandalism incident at the Eastgate Shopping Center has put a spotlight on the controversial surveillance cameras quietly monitoring Memphis roadways.
Memphis Police officers responded to a vandalism call at 5100 Park Avenue at 11:18 a.m., discovering at least three Flock Safety cameras destroyed.
While MPD says the incident report is not yet complete, the sight of the damaged poles has reignited a local debate over the rapidly expanding technology.
Memphis is home to at least 200 of the automatic license plate readers. Nationally, Flock Safety has grown exponentially since its founding in 2020. Valued at over $8 billion, the company now holds contracts with roughly 40% of all law enforcement agencies in the United States.
For some residents, the sight of the broken cameras came as no surprise.
“I have mixed feelings about the Flock cameras,” said Memphis resident Jeremy Shields, who came across the vandalized scene. “I’m told that they’re supposed to help out and make sure they keep crime low, but I’m starting to see more bad than good. I’m starting to see people manipulating the system, taking the Flock camera information and doing what they want to do with it.”
In response to nationwide privacy concerns, Flock Safety recently announced updates to its data security, including reducing default data retention to seven days, requiring case codes for searches, and implementing mandatory multi-factor authentication.
Local police leadership also defended their monitoring practices, emphasizing that internal audits prevent officers from tracking drivers without cause.
“We use our cameras very responsibly. Everything is audited,” said Memphis Police Deputy Chief Andrew Brown. “We handle the misuse of that very seriously. We will fire you if you misuse any of our technology, period.”
Efforts to reach the Eastgate Shopping Center property owners for comment were unsuccessful.
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