Flock Camera & License Plate Reader Hats

In August 2026, NPR counted automatic license plate readers being sawed down, painted over, shot at and stolen in at least 36 states, and about a hundred cities pulling the plug on their contracts entirely. More than 5,000 police agencies use the cameras. Every month they capture billions of plates, along with makes, models, colours and the time you drove past — a record of where your car has been that nobody asked you about first. It is one of the few fights left where the privacy left and the libertarian right are shouting the same thing at the same city council meeting. Everyone has noticed the new grey box at the end of the street. Very few people remember voting for it. These hats stay on the argument, not the hacksaw. SMILE FOR THE FLOCK CAMERA is the polite acknowledgement. LICENSE PLATE READERS ARE WATCHING states the thing plainly and names no company. MY PLATE IS NOT PUBLIC RECORD is a position you can wear without having to start the conversation, and CANCEL THE FLOCK CONTRACT is for people who have already started it. Four lines, eight colourways, set in everything from a plain sans to a courthouse serif.