Exclusive: Chicago police accessed Flock camera data despite no city contract
CHICAGO – Chicago police officers conducted thousands of searches through the Flock Safety camera network this year, even though Chicago does not have an active contract with the company.
CPD Flock searches revealed
Audit logs obtained after months of requests show CPD officers ran more than 23,000 searches through Flock from May through July 2026.
The searches were connected to a range of reasons, including traffic stops, robberies, welfare checks and homicides.
Flock cameras in Chicago are privately owned — landlords, businesses, etc. — through subscriptions that cost thousands of dollars each year. The camera owner decides whether the data can be shared with other agencies.
That means CPD officers may access Flock data if a private owner shares it or if another police department gives Chicago access to its network.
The accountability question
Flock says camera owners and agencies control their own data-sharing settings.
But because the city does not have an active Flock contract, there are no local rules or oversight requirements governing how Chicago officers search, access or retain that data.
The audit logs show that officers can still access the network, even without Chicago paying for the system.
What’s next:
The findings raise questions about what role city leaders should play in setting rules for police access to privately owned surveillance cameras.
There is still more to learn about how officers used the data and what happens to information collected through those searches.
What they’re saying:
We reached out to CPD and Flock for comment. CPD directed us to the Office of Public Safety Administration, which the department said is responsible for public safety technology. Flock has not responded.
The Source: The information in this story came from Chicago Police Department Flock audit logs from May through July 2026 and information provided by Flock Safety.
