Surveillance In The Skies
Over the last few years, we have been hearing about the company Flock Safety, who I’m sure needs no introduction at this point. Recently, on October 16, 2025 Flock announced a new product for First Responders and for private companies, Flock Alpha. Flock Alpha is a drone program that they claim will be used by First Responders to watch over crime scenes and give a detailed view of the situation before any human is on scene. They are also advertising it to private companies. The drones are able to patrol an area as an autonomous security detail.
Should We Be Worried?
These drones are equipped with the same software that the Flock surveillance cameras are equipped with. This means that they have facial recognition and the ability to track your every move. I would not be surprised if the drones followed anyone that they recognized as a person of interest or someone with a warrant. This doesn’t sound bad on the surface, but when you look at situations that have happened where innocent people are tracked down because a Flock camera said that they committed a crime, you may rethink your stance on these drones. Now, these drones currently only fly in one area. However, as we have seen in the past with Flock, they will most likely start to roam cities looking for anything that they can report. If you haven’t seen, Flock has pushed updates to their ALPRs (automated license plate readers) and gunshot detectors to make it so that they have secondary functions. The ALPRs, such as the Flock Falcon, can now capture images of people’s faces and follow them as they walk. Essentially acting as an automated security camera. The gunshot detectors now also detect “citizens in distress,” meaning that they are recording all audio near the detector. The possibility of Flock making their drones roam your city may not be so far fetched.
Where Does The Data Go?
Flock claims that the data goes to the cloud, and that the “owner” of the drone can choose who gains access to the footage. But, as we have learned, Flock is not the most reliable when it comes to this. Flock employees have been outed for accessing Flock cameras at their leisure. There have also been documented vulnerabilities for Flock’s systems. With these vulnerabilities, anyone who has the know how can gain access to these systems, take all of the data, and potentially even control them. YouTuber Benn Jordan has an excellent video displaying the safety hazards that these vulnerabilities create.
What We Can Do
We can still prevent the Flock drones from coming to cities everywhere. Speaking to your representatives, you city's police department, and speaking out at meetings with your local government can help prevent them from approving the Flock Alpha system, and in doing so, increasing your taxes for something you didn’t vote for. At the very least, if you cannot or don’t want to perform those tasks, you can share this post with your friends and family.