NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) — If someone told you there were more Flock cameras in Staten Island than in Manhattan, would you believe them?
According to DeFlock data, that’s exactly the case. On top of that, Manhattan is the least-populated of the five boroughs when it comes to Flock Safety cameras.
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What are Flock cameras?
Flock founder Garrett Langley has said his surveillance equipment manufacturing company started out of frustration in his home city of Atlanta and what he claimed were high chances of getting away with crime.
“Crime felt too easy to get away with,” Langley said during a TED talk in April. “It didn’t make sense that you could steal someone’s car… or you could kill someone and have a 50 percent chance of getting away with it.”
FILE – A Flock Safety license plate reader is seen along a public road, Oct. 16, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
Since that moment, Flock has built all kinds of “public safety technology,” such as drones, audio-detection devices and software.
But the real concern for the public has been the cameras. There are 90 cities, including multiple in New York, that have either rejected or canceled contracts for cameras.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s office sets guidelines for how ALPR data is stored, audited, and accessed – only under specific circumstances related to active investigations or crimes.
According to DeFlock, the organization dedicated to tracking those cameras, there are over 130,000 automated license plate readers (ALPRs).
How many Flock cameras are there in NYC?
Below is a breakdown of how many Flock cameras there are in New York City as of Monday, per DeFlock data.
Please note that the data from DeFlock breaks down Flock Safety ALPRs and not other companies. There are roughly 1,700 ALPRs across New York City and Long Island.
For data on how many total ALPRs there are near you, click here.
Spencer Gustafson is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered New York state and city news since 2023. See more of his work here.
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