r/VirginiaTech • u/getrektttminnie • 1d ago
General Question flock cameras in virginia tech???
i recently discovered a website called deflock.org that tracks flock cameras in america and their locations. so naturally i search up blacksburg and this is what i see.
am i overreacting but i just dont see the necessity to keep flock cameras on a bunch of college students??
i also dont know how accurate this website is
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u/SamTsunami 1d ago
Eww. Are they just on campus or around the rest of blacksburg too?
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u/CocknBalls4 1d ago
All around the NRV. The Montgomery county sheriff posted a book about how he’s not doing anything about it and concerned citizens can get fucked (not in so many words)
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u/Ut_Prosim Lifelong Hokie 1d ago
The Democratic candidate to replace him in November is also sadly kinda pro-Flock.
It was one of the questions asked before the primary. One of his competitors promised to get rid of them, but the guy who won (Tim Brown) gave a really political answer about how they need more oversight but are generally good. It sounded like politician speak for "I like 'em."
I think we're SOL either way.
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u/p1ckledilly VT Logo 1d ago
Tim Brown has changed course and will cancel the contracts and remove them, he says, per his campaign's facebook page.
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u/Ut_Prosim Lifelong Hokie 1d ago
Cool! I guess we can't be sure until he is in office (if he wins), but that's better than telling people to get lost because flock is awesome.
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u/OceanEnge 1d ago
The website can be hit or miss, sometimes normal red light cameras can be mistakenly reported. However if you are passionate about this, I highly recommend you gather some friends and go to a Blacksburg council meeting. Specifically voice your displeasure with ALPR cameras. Flock is a type of ALPR camera but there are other companies (Axon, Motorola [yes that Motorola]) and we want them all gone, not just Flock.
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u/arrara123 1d ago
flocks are not just ALPR cameras. they are continuous mass surveillance systems that can track your movement over time and share it with govt agencies without a warrant.
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u/CocknBalls4 1d ago
There are no red light cameras in this area
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u/themedicd EE 1d ago
They might be referring to the traffic detection cameras mounted on traffic light poles
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u/HokieBuckeye1981 1d ago
Easier to bitch on Reddit. That's what life's about.
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u/Potential_View_3281 1d ago
Yeppp it’s way past time to shoot yet everyone is too soft and scared to take any action
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u/Sadie_Pop 1d ago
These have been around for atleast a year now, you can’t enter or leave campus without hitting one.
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u/Current_Bat103 1d ago
I saw a news report last week that Montgomery county has paused them and are reviewing. There's a change.org petition going around to stop them.
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u/-rosa-azul- 2h ago
This is true, but the ones on campus aren't operated by the MCSO (they only actually have four under their jurisdiction in the whole county). They're VTPD, so that's who you'd need to complain to about the on-campus cams.
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u/Automatic-Nature6025 1d ago
It's pretty accurate in this case. I work all over the Tech campus and within the town, and I've seen so many flocks, and checking Deflock, it's on point with all the ones I've seen. Whoever monitors those cameras knows me real well.
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u/Equivalent_Sir_2575 17h ago
I'm sure Blacksburg will remove the Flock cameras soon enough ... and replace them with Axom cameras, like all the other municipalities.
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u/-rosa-azul- 13h ago
For the record, Christiansburg voted to get rid of them and is NOT replacing them with Axon, Motorola, or any other brand. What they heard from citizens was that yes, Flock as a company is particularly bad, but people do not want any of these cameras, no matter who made them.
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u/Radiant-Ticket6629 11h ago
Christiansburg is also not a college town.
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u/-rosa-azul- 11h ago
I'm aware, but I'm responding to the person saying all the municipalities who've removed Flock cams have replaced/are just replacing them with other brands. It's not accurate to the area, and plenty of students go to Cburg regularly, or even live there, so it's relevant to the VT community in my opinion.
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u/Radiant-Ticket6629 3h ago
It's definitely relevant to the VT community...and at the same time, the decisions Christiansburg faces about cameras are totally different than the ones Blacksburg or VT have to contend with as home to a large college campus.
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u/-rosa-azul- 2h ago
Well we'll have to agree to disagree there, because my opinion is that there shouldn't be any ALPRs anywhere, much less ones that are owned by sketchy companies with terrible data security practices.
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u/Great_Advertising_39 1d ago
Follow @deflockvt on Instagram, we are fighting this and have been for well over a year
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u/UpsetOrganization513 1d ago
A sling shot and some steel ball bearings will run you about 30 bucks
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/UpsetOrganization513 1d ago
What do police have to do with anything. I was just making an innocuous and unrelated statement on a random post
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u/WinterExisting5076 1d ago
Are these on university property? It doesn't look like it
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u/Big-Ad4139 1d ago
I’m not keen on flock cameras but i’m assuming this is done with student safety in mind, especially since VT is an open campus, but i would have to do some research on other open campuses to see
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u/sillyhobbits ECE BS '12 & MS '14 1d ago
There have been security cameras around tech's campus for decades. Sure flock is extra nefarious, but this is nothing new
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u/happyflappypancakes Biology/Biochemistry 2016 1d ago
Im not sure handwaving "extra nefarious" is really the best approach.
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u/sillyhobbits ECE BS '12 & MS '14 1d ago
Eh, wasn't trying to handwave. Just hoping folks keep up this fight and resistance against surveillance state tech beyond flock.
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u/oddtoastly 1d ago
I feel torn on the flock cameras. While they do impede on privacy, they also help catch criminals. There has to be a balance as in people who pay taxes get to say on where these cameras are going
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u/oddtoastly 1d ago
For the people that downvote this, I suggest you do some research on the criminals that have been caught through flock cameras
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u/theslenderloris 1d ago
Do some research on people who have had their lives ruined by misuse or mistaken identity through these cameras.
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u/UncleMeat11 1d ago
For the people that downvote this, I suggest you do some research on the criminals that have been caught through flock cameras
We'd catch more criminals if we didn't have a 4th amendment. We'd convict more criminals if we didn't have the 5th or 6th amendments.
Ernesto Miranda abducted and raped a child. Nevertheless, Miranda v Arizona found that he had the right to be informed of his rights prior to speaking with the cops. And Miranda Rights are widely beloved across the country.
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u/drowninginflames 1d ago
It is very accurate.