Group will present 1,000 ‘DeFlock’ signatures to Highland Park City Council

Highland Parkers have joined a growing nationwide movement challenging the use of Flock Safety license-plate-reading cameras. 

With more than 1,000 signatures on a DeFlock Lake County petition, as of Wednesday, Nov. 4, community members are calling for the removal of the city’s automated license plate readers and raising concerns over privacy, data collection and surveillance. 

DeFlock Lake County is a grassroots resident movement focused on halting the use and potential misuse of Flock cameras in Lake County communities. The group formed in the summer of 2026 and has protested the cameras in Mundelein, Waukegan and Lincolnshire and is now focused on Highland Park. 

The group has held a number of meetings since its inception, including recent meetings on Oct. 23 in Highland Park and Nov. 8 in Highwood. 

Augusta Guffroy, president of DeFlock Lake County, decided to start the group after seeding multiple news headlines about the harmful impacts of Flock cameras. Guffroy got involved with the de-Flocking community and local advocacy group Highland Park Indivisible before starting DeFlock Lake County.

Petition signatures thus far reportedly were collected when the group canvassed near early-voting polling places and Election Day, engaging with voters at polling places, as well as knocking on doors.

In addition to petition signing, the meetings are used to educate people on the different types of AI cameras, how to get a “network audit log” using the Freedom of Information Act and real-world examples of the problems with the technology. 

The group will be addressing the Highland Park City Council on Monday, Nov. 9,  to share their petition.

If the petition receives 1,600 local signatures, the group will seek to add a referendum on the April 2027 election ballot with the question, “Shall the City of Highland Park discontinue its use of networked and artificial intelligence-based surveillance camera systems, and thereafter be barred from procuring or contracting for the same. Yes or No?” 

In the future, the group hopes to partner with City officials and potential elected officials, said Guffroy. 

Flock Safety

Flock Safety built its cameras as a tool for public safety to help law enforcement locate missing people, recover stolen vehicles and investigate other crimes more quickly, according to the Flock website.

The cameras capture images of vehicles that pass and logging details, including license plate numbers.

The City of Highland Park City Council in 2023 approved the installation of more than 20 Flock Safety license-plate readers, joining many of its neighbors that already had the technology in use.

Although the mission of Flock cameras is to make communities safe, Guffroy believes they have done the opposite. 

“Flock cameras are erroneous; there’s no transparency, no cybersecurity,” Guffroy said. “AI picks up letters and numbers and mixes them around. It’s not secure and we believe it to be a national security risk. Anybody can hack into the system – it’s been proven.” 

He also said the cameras are a threat to the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects against unreasonable government searches. 

“I have children and I do not consent to them being recorded,” Guffroy said. “I don’t consent to myself being recorded.” 

The lack of transparency around license-plate readers also disappoints Guffroy, as she reportedly has not received “network audit logs” from any of the municipalities from which she’s requested them. 

Misuse Examples

The Institute for Justice, a nonprofit out of Virginia, keeps a national database of abuses and errors of Flock data and technology. Guffroy noted multiple news-making examples that occurred in Chicagoland

The first was the case of Marimar Martinez, a 30-year-old U.S. citizen and teacher’s assistant from Chicago, whom U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shot five times in 2025 after using Flock data to track her movement.

In the case of Amber Newell case in Milwaukee, she was pulled over at gunpoint on Interstate 94 by Brookfield, Illinois police after Flock technology incorrectly flagged her vehicle in connection to a homicide.

Guffroy also mentioned a case where a Crystal Lake police officer used Flock data to reportedly stalk love interests. 

For more information on DeFlock Lake County, email deflock@deflocklakecounty.com or follow the DeFlock Lake County Facebook group. 

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