Suspected locations, navigation, and a call to action

Posted 2025-12-08

It has been a while since we posted an update, so this post serves as an overview of some of the work we have been doing over the last few months:

Suspected locations of ALPR

The DeFlock project has been hugely successful in showing locations where ALPR have been found. They have a also assembled a cohort of dedicated mappers who will do the field work of finding cameras and adding them to the map.

So a logical question is, how can we most effectively support the mapping efforts?

By building a map of suspected locations of ALPR installations. This is now integrated into the DeFlock App under "Advanced Features / Suspected Locations", which shows a "?" anywhere we think there should be a camera that is not yet in the DeFlock database.

If you know of possible sources of data we should consider, email us or submit your notes on Gitlab.

How does it work?

We draw from a few different sources, as you can see in our Gitlab repository:

The idea of looking at 811 locate requests came from a reader of this site (thanks again!).

Basically, since Flock Safety manages the installation of their cameras nationally, they are also generally responsible for the installation of any poles, electrical cables, and other required infrastructure. If this involves any digging, they must file a "locate request" with their local 811 system. The locate request then triggers all utilities who may have something underground to check their records and report back about possible hazards.

For many states these tickets are available for anyone to access. For example this request in Oregon shows that five different companies were notified of the dig request and even includes a photograph of the actual location where the pole was to be installed.

So, once we find a portal we can then pull all tickets related to Flock Safety, extract the information, and then add to our collection.

The same process is possible for a few data portals. For example, the city of Chicago releases dig ticket notifications through a custom portal. We can periodcally fetch these data and add new entries to the map.

Sometimes we can even get GPS coordinates through public records. Flock Safety contracts sometimes include the complete details of exactly where and how their installations will take place.

And finally, we have received submissions of field reports and other collected data that may or may not have already been added to the openstreetmap database. We include these as well, which allows our mappers to go and verify the report themselves before adding the ALPR to the database.

If you know of possible sources of data we should consider, email us or submit your notes on Gitlab.

Many readers have asked whether there are any tools which help them avoid ALPR while driving. To date the best method has been to use the DeFlock App to follow along as you drive, but this requires significant attention.

That all changes now.

Starting in v2 of the app, you will be able to use our navigation API to automatically find routes which avoid ALPR.

We are also working hard on the next versions of the navigation system:

This is still quite an experimental system, so if you find anything strange please send us a report. Even a hint of something going wrong is useful. We understand completely that you probably do not want to send specific location data to us.

If you can offer programming or financial support, get in touch with us.

A call to action

The DeFlock project has matured signifcantly over the past year, and at alprwatch we have focused most of our efforts on the plumbing required to help make the community more effective.

To that end, here is how you can help us help make you more effective:

You can reach us by email or on Gitlab.

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