Report and track Flock camera locations — a community driven resource
If you spotted a small rectangular camera mounted on a utility pole or street sign in Polo, it's almost certainly a Flock Safety ALPR license plate reader — not a traffic camera, not a security camera. Here's how to confirm it.
Six visual features that distinguish Flock Safety ALPR cameras from traffic cameras, security cameras, and other pole-mounted devices. Polo, Illinois.
Three hardware variants are deployed across the US. Polo, Illinois.
1 Flock Safety ALPR camera have been reported in Polo, Illinois by community members. 1 has been independently verified.
Illinois is one of the few states with a statutory ALPR retention limit. Under the Automated License Plate Reader Act, non-hit data must be deleted within 30 days. Data associated with a criminal investigation may be retained longer. Chicago operates one of the largest municipal ALPR networks in the United States.
Statute: 625 ILCS 65/
It's almost certainly a Flock Safety ALPR (Automatic License Plate Reader). These devices photograph every passing vehicle's license plate, timestamp, and direction of travel. 1 have been documented in Polo by community members on this map.
Traffic cameras are typically larger, mounted at intersections on signal arms, and face the road horizontally. Flock Safety cameras are smaller (roughly 8×5 inches), mounted on utility poles or fence posts at 8–12 ft, and often have a visible IR LED ring and a small solar panel. They are not connected to traffic signals.
Cameras can be operated by local police departments, HOAs, private businesses, or neighborhood associations. Flock Safety sells directly to all of these groups. The operator is not always disclosed publicly, which is why community mapping efforts like this one exist.