this post was submitted on 06 Nov 2025
114 points (95.2% liked)

A Boring Dystopia

14433 readers
24 users here now

Pictures, Videos, Articles showing just how boring it is to live in a dystopic society, or with signs of a dystopic society.

Rules (Subject to Change)

--Be a Decent Human Being

--Posting news articles: include the source name and exact title from article in your post title

--If a picture is just a screenshot of an article, link the article

--If a video's content isn't clear from title, write a short summary so people know what it's about.

--Posts must have something to do with the topic

--Zero tolerance for Racism/Sexism/Ableism/etc.

--No NSFW content

--Abide by the rules of lemmy.world

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

https://youtu.be/37fp2n6p19Q

Widespread National Deployment

Flock Safety operates in thousands of communities across all 50 states, with:

  • 5,000+ law enforcement agencies using Flock cameras
  • 90,000+ cameras deployed nationwide as of July 2025
  • 20+ billion license plates scanned per month
  • 800+ U.S. cities that have voted to pass Flock contracts in 2025 alone

Specific Locations Mentioned

Massachusetts:

  • Over 40 police departments statewide
  • Boston PD successfully negotiated stricter contract terms
  • Cambridge recently disabled 16 cameras after council vote

Arizona:

  • Sedona (contract canceled after public protest)
  • Multiple other communities across the state

Colorado:

  • Denver (111 cameras at 70 intersections)
  • Boulder, Colorado Springs, Lafayette, Louisville, Loveland
  • Spokane County Sheriff's Office (Washington)

Oregon:

  • Eugene (57 cameras, currently paused)
  • Springfield (25 cameras installed but not yet activated)

Texas:

  • Austin (contract ended)
  • Dallas, Johnson County
  • Multiple other departments statewide

Virginia:

  • Norfolk (facing lawsuit over Fourth Amendment violations)
  • Hopewell
  • Warren County

Illinois:

  • Evanston (19 cameras deactivated)
  • Oak Park

California:

  • Oakland (NAACP endorsement)
  • Altadena
  • Los Altos Hills
  • Watsonville

Georgia:

  • Gwinnett County PD (680+ community-funded cameras)
  • Duluth, Johns Creek

Other States:

  • Tennessee, New York, Florida, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Indiana, Washington

Types of Users

  • Law enforcement agencies (primary users)
  • Homeowners Associations (3,000+ private organizations)
  • Businesses (500+ corporate contracts)

Key Resources for Tracking Locations

The system is particularly concentrated in metropolitan areas but has spread to rural communities as well, creating what critics call a "national surveillance network" accessible to thousands of law enforcement agencies nationwide.

top 11 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] HeyJoe@lemmy.world 27 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I love this guy's videos. They get me so angry, but it's worth it to see just how disgusting it can get. To me, the scariest part here is him telling them we track your vehicle using a camera system! This is the exact reason why everyone has fought to stop this kind of survalence. Literally abusing a system to falsely accuse an innocent citizen is disgusting.

[–] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

The cop is literally gleeful - you can't breath without us catching you on camera - and so sure he's right when he's so wrong, it's terrifying to think of what would happen if this guy is put in any kind of stress situation.

[–] Aeri@lemmy.world 24 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Remember your lines!

  1. Do you have a judicial warrant?
  2. I refuse to speak without my attorney present.
[–] resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

Judicial warrant. They’re making up their own warrants (“administrative warrant”) and saying “yes” to “do you have a warrant?”

Not that that’s some magic spell against fascism. Don’t answer the door and definitely don’t open it.

[–] mogranja@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

That doesn't protect you at all if your skin is dark.

[–] Dyskolos@lemmy.zip 19 points 3 weeks ago

Not a day passes where someone outside the USA just shakes their head in incomprehension, or just utter disgust, at the sight of the weird things that happen there.

I can't even imagine having such an absurd talk with police knocking at my door.

[–] Fuck_u_spez_@sh.itjust.works 9 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Can the license plate readers be defeated with plate covers?

[–] Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus 6 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

This would get you in hot water with real life cops soon. Better go for adversarial patterns:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp9MwZkHiMQ

Benn Jordan's Github: https://github.com/bennjordan

[–] Fuck_u_spez_@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

It would except this is all an academic exercise. Very educational video BTW.

[–] Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus 1 points 3 weeks ago

The Github has very academic exercisy python code that created hypothetical overlays that are indistinguishable from small specks of dirt, which could result in a hypothetical sticker.

[–] fittedsyllabi@lemmy.world -5 points 3 weeks ago

Some towns deserve to be nuked.