Birmingham has quietly become one of the most surveilled cities in
Alabama. Nearly 1,000 license plate reading cameras now operate across the
metro area, recording every vehicle that passes -- not just those
suspected of a crime. The city approved $9.7 million to expand the
network, but residents were never consulted and basic questions remain
unanswered.
How is this data being used? Who has access to it? What safeguards exist
to prevent misuse? Right now, we don't know -- because none of that
information has been made public.
DeFlock Birmingham is a grassroots, all-volunteer effort working to roll
back mass surveillance in our city and ensure that any public safety
technology operates with real accountability. We built
DeFlockBHM to research the facts, educate residents, and
organize a coalition that demands better from our city leaders.
We're not against public safety -- we believe effective policing and civil
liberties aren't in conflict. But a system this large, this expensive,
and this secretive needs to be challenged, not just reformed.
What we're calling for:
- Publish ALPR policies -- Alabama law requires them before cameras can
even operate. Birmingham has published nothing.
- Disclose data sharing -- Residents deserve to know whether their
location data is accessible to federal agencies, including ICE and Border
Patrol.
- Independent security audit -- Researchers have documented 51 security
vulnerabilities in Flock cameras. Birmingham should verify its own
systems.
- Civilian oversight -- An independent review board with real authority to
audit usage and investigate complaints.
- Community input before expansion -- No more cameras added without public
hearings and genuine resident participation.
- Reduce the footprint -- Other cities are canceling and scaling back.
Birmingham should be evaluating whether this system belongs here at all.
What your support funds:
- Public records requests -- Filing fees and costs to obtain contracts,
policies, and deployment records the city hasn't volunteered
- Website and operations -- Keeping deflockbhm.com running as a free
public resource
- Community outreach and advertising -- Most people don't know this
network exists. We need help getting the word out.
- Design and creative work -- Professional materials that make complex
surveillance issues clear and accessible
Why it matters:
Over 30 cities have already paused, scaled back, or ended their Flock
camera contracts -- including Austin, Denver, Santa Cruz, and Cambridge.
Amazon's Ring division cut ties with Flock after public backlash. The
conversation is shifting nationally, and Birmingham residents deserve to
be part of it.
This is a nonpartisan, civic issue. It's about making sure our city's
approach to public safety reflects the values and input of the people who
live here.
Every contribution helps us ask the questions Birmingham hasn't answered
-- and push for the changes our community needs.