Criminals hate San Francisco’s surveillance camera network — a new lawsuit threatens to shut the cameras down

NY Post ^ | 12/30/25 | Josh Koehn

[Libloather]

A retired San Francisco schoolteacher is accusing the city of running a “Big Brother” surveillance dragnet that illegally tracks everyday drivers.

Michael Moore, a retired public school teacher, filed a federal class-action lawsuit Monday alleging sweeping Fourth Amendment violations.

Moore says the city’s Flock license-plate reader system unlawfully monitors his movements as he drives to stores, his sons’ schools and family gatherings — all without a warrant or probable cause.

San Francisco has installed roughly 450 to nearly 500 Flock cameras along major roadways, making it “functionally impossible” to drive anywhere in the city without having your license plate photographed, logged, and stored in an AI-powered database, according to the complaint.

Flock operates a centralized nationwide database collecting more than 1 billion license-plate reads each month across over 5,000 communities, potentially allowing law enforcement agencies — including those outside San Francisco — to track residents’ movements.

The lawsuit, first reported by the San Francisco Standard, alleges the cameras create a detailed, long-term record of drivers’ movements, associations, and routines, all without a warrant.

Any SFPD officer, the suit claims, can access the database after watching a short training video, with no requirement to show probable cause and little monitoring of how searches are used.

San Francisco police have already acknowledged that out-of-state agencies, including departments in Texas and Georgia, accessed the city’s license plate data, with some searches tied to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, allegedly violating California law and the city’s own sanctuary policies.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; History; Local News
KEYWORDS: 1984; cameras; criminals; lawsuit; policestate; surveillance; surveillancestate

[Libloather]

Because it's not a crime unless you get caught. And even then...

[ClearCase_guy]

Surveillance cameras are primarily aimed at basically law-abiding citizens. The government will find ways to stomp on you and keep you in a state of fear.

Surveillance cameras are not aimed at criminals. There is too much risk of achieving results which are “racist” or undesirable in other ways. If criminals were taken off the street, the general populace would be less anxious and less afraid of their environment. That would be bad.

[Mark]

Give them what they want and when homicides, rapes, robberies and burglary rates double, announce that no Big Brother options were used.

[catnipman]

next they should sue the GPS satellites because essentially the same tracking is being done by your automobile and your cell phone when you’re driving your car past those FLOCK cameras ...

[The Louiswu]

Hope he wins then that can be applied to similar cases and similar situations around the country.

[Presbyterian Reporter]

“”””San Francisco has installed roughly 450 to nearly 500 Flock cameras along major roadways,””””

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Let’s see now. San Francisco Mayors and Council have passed laws encouraging crime.

So to combat the crime they created, they installed 500 cameras.

Such are the INTENDED consequences by totalitarian leaders to control everybody’s activity.

[Ronaldus Magnus III]

out-of-state agencies, including departments in Texas and Georgia, accessed the city’s license plate data, with some searches tied to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, allegedly violating California law and the city’s own sanctuary policies

Ah, yes. The evil that is enforcement of the law on illegal trespassers, invaders.

Also "violating California law and the city’s own sanctuary policies"

Since Sanctuary, providing cover for rapists and terrorists is illegal, ICE is not violating, they are enforcing.

"Violating California law"

Kalifornia is a violation of all that is good and right.

[BenLurkin]

Are they saying the plaintiff is a criminal?

That’s how the headline reads.

[Scrambler Bob]

Flock operates a centralized nationwide database collecting more than 1 billion license-plate reads each month

= = =

So, how many ‘documents’ is that? As opposed to Epstien’s millinos of ‘documents’.

And - - - Who is storing all that, and what $ cost, and at what energy and physical location cost, etc. ???

And who checks for accuracy of their data?

Maybe I need my own AI to analyze and question their stuff.

[Scrambler Bob]

There is too much risk of achieving results which are “racist”
= = =

So I need a Black car, for self defense of racisim?

[HartleyMBaldwin]

What’s this guy’s problem? If he hasn’t done anything wrong, he’s got nothing to worry about. (/s, in case anyone didn’t know)

Seriously, though, way too many people think just like that. I’ve heard them say as much.

[NorthMountain]

Yep. This is The Way of the left:

1) Government creates or exacerbates a problem.

2) Government produces a response that
a) does not solve the problem
b) does infringe upon the liberties of honest citizens

[old school]

Yes the surveillance state has you by the short-hairs! And, AI is a major feature of inter-connected surveillance systems. They’re building a digital dossier on you and they’re brazen about it!

[Ronald77]

I agree with you 100 percent.
READ OR WATCH “1984.”

[old school]

They don’t even have to tell the AI to compile that data it collects. It does so automatically!

[PeterPrinciple]

but those cameras are there for their safety!!!!

[roving]

If I was planning on doing a robbery or homicide, I would cover the plate.

[BobL]

“If I was planning on doing a robbery or homicide, I would cover the plate.”

They also identify the car type and model year, as well as any dings and bumper stickers.

[BobL]

“And - - - Who is storing all that, and what $ cost, and at what energy and physical location cost, etc. ???”

Flock stores it, and access to some or all of the data is part of their subscription plan.

[SPDSHDW]

You want to use that big ridge brain of yours and explain to me how exactly traffic cameras tracking vehicles is halving rapes, Robberies, murders and larceny?

Maybe. Just maybe, if used properly, they would assist in catching the criminals, but its san fransicko, home of Nancy Pelosi and the city that is giving Sodom a run for its money

Criminals don’t care about half assed measures like this. This wont stop anything. Criminals are protected in SF. This, like everything else the state does, is aimed at terrorising and enslaving the law abiding. In addition its about stealing every nickel from citizens the state can.