Flock Cameras In Illinois: Here’s Some Things You Need To Know

If you're like me, it's probably only been a short while since you heard someone going off about Flock cameras.

The only thing you hear people talk about nearly as much as they talk about weather and sports around here has got to be Flock cameras. And, like with discussions of weather and sports, there are lots and lots of really angry voices.

The Flock cameras are everywhere. Or at least it sure seems that way.

So let's take a look at what these things actually are, what they look like, and just how many of them are watching over Illinois, including right here in the Rockford area.

Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

First Off, Flock Cameras Are Not Speed Or Red Light Cameras

A Flock camera is an automated license plate reader, or ALPR, designed to photograph passing vehicles and record information such as the license plate, vehicle make, model, color, time, and location. Police can search that information during an investigation or receive an alert when a plate matches a vehicle they're looking for.

And they're pretty easy to spot once you know what you're looking for.

The typical Flock camera is a small, dark-colored rectangular camera mounted several feet up on a skinny pole, usually with a small solar panel above it. They're designed to operate without being connected to the electrical grid, which means they can be installed just about anywhere cars travel.

Joe Raedle, Getty Images

Now, Let's Look At Some Numbers

Flock says its network has grown to more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states (none in Alaska), with more than 20 billion license-plate scans each month. More than 7,000 law-enforcement agencies nationwide use Flock's technology.

And, Illinois has a LOT of them.

Community mapping projects currently document roughly 8,000 ALPR cameras of all types in Illinois, with Flock accounting for the largest share. More than 500 Illinois law-enforcement agencies use Flock technology, according to recent reporting.

As for Rockford, depending on which community-mapping database you use and exactly how the boundaries are drawn, you're looking at roughly 150-200 documented ALPR cameras inside the city, with the overwhelming majority identified as Flock equipment. One database currently lists 198 cameras in Rockford, while another lists 157.

Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

It's Not Just Rockford Here In Northern Illinois

For Winnebago County, one current community mapping project documents more than 300 camera locations, including cameras in Rockford, Loves Park, Machesney Park, Roscoe, Rockton, and elsewhere.

Keep in mind that those numbers aren't an official government inventory. Flock doesn't publish individual communities' camera counts, and the mapping projects rely on public records and cameras documented by volunteers.

So the next time you see that little black box and solar panel perched on a pole, you'll know what you're looking at.

And around Rockford, chances are pretty good you're going to see another one before you get home.