Students at Kennesaw State University are enraged by the university’s use of Flock Safety cameras across campuses, arguing they don’t ensure student safety and infringe on their rights as U.S. citizens.
“They [Flock Safety] cannot be trusted,” said Issac Thoman, organizer of DeFlock KSU, an anti-Flock group on campus. “We need somebody that the school and students can trust, and that’s not Flock.”
Georgia Institute of Technology graduates Paige Todd, Garrett Langley, and Matt Feury founded Flock Safety in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2017. A string of car break-ins in Langley’s neighborhood sparked the idea for Flock Safety, whose original mission was to make neighborhoods safer with license plate recognition technology.
Flock has deployed over 120,000 cameras across 49 states nationwide. 5,000 cameras are dispersed throughout Metro Atlanta, and 182 are in Cobb County, where Kennesaw State University is located.
According to DeFlock Maps, Flock cameras began appearing on Kennesaw State University’s Kennesaw Campus around the end of May 2025, and by December of that year, more than a dozen more were installed. Now, about 49 cameras are across both campuses, with at least 22 on the Kennesaw campus and 16 in Marietta.
Thoman, a third-year at KSU, is extremely passionate about restricting KSU’s use of Flock cameras. Thoman has not always opposed these cameras, but he became skeptical when he noticed devices near sidewalks that were clearly not license plate readers.
“I’m not against cameras. I’m fine with having cameras; I think they make people feel safer. As long as it’s something that’s compliant with KSU’s policies and something where KSU actually controls the data that comes off it,” Thoman said.
Flock Safety produces a variety of surveillance software, including a high-powered microphone called Raven, an acoustic gunshot detection system designed to identify distress sounds such as gunshots, fireworks, and car crashes.
Although Flock says its Raven microphones aren’t always recording and are “event-triggered,” many students still feel constantly monitored on campus.
“This is completely warrantless,” said Noah Sensing, a junior at Kennesaw State University and a participant in DeFlock KSU. “None of us have consented to be surveilled like this. This completely violates our Fourth Amendment right.”
In October 2025, Flock Safety reported a new Raven microphone feature that could detect sounds of “human distress,” such as screams. This “Distress Detection” announcement concerned many citizens who feared Flock devices were constantly listening to and recording them. As of July 2026, Flock Safety has ended this pilot feature.
“It’s important to understand what the system does and what it does not do,” Flock Safety wrote in a July statement. “Gunshot Detection is designed to recognize specific sound events, not people. The system cannot understand speech, analyze language, or identify voices. It doesn’t now, and it never has.”
During a time when many police officers have been abusing their access to these surveillance cameras, many students are growing concerned about who has access to their whereabouts.
“We don’t need police departments in Utah to be able to have access to our data and where our students are going,” Sensing said.
One such case involves former Cobb and Bartow County police officer Anthony Trapani, 32, who was named officer of the year in 2024. However, he was arrested and charged in September with two counts of misusing a license plate reader system and violating his oath of office. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says Trapani used the cameras for “non-law enforcement purposes.”
There are many other cases involving officers using Flock ALPR cameras to stalk former romantic partners. Dustin Bozzo, a former Alpharetta, Georgia police officer, allegedly used Flock 56 times between March and May 2026 to search for the license plate of his past romantic partner.
According to the Institute for Justice, Georgia has reported 83 instances of Flock device misuse since 2023, including 2 incidents of error, 20 stalking cases, and 59 incidents of non-law enforcement use.
Using data from the Institute for Justice Database of ALPR Abuse, Thoman cross-referenced the information with KSU’s sharing report to identify officers who have abused their access to Flock surveillance cameras.
Thoman’s research, published on DeFlock KSU’s website, shows that of the 200 reported cases of Flock misuse nationwide, more than 100 officers had access to Kennesaw State’s LPR cameras.
“It’s horrifying,” Thoman said. “That’s really a real safety concern for students on campus.”
Flock Safety Media Relations Specialist Andrew Smith declined an interview and instead linked their media FAQ page.
On September 30, Kennesaw State University’s student government association held a meeting where DeFlock KSU members addressed their opposition to Flock cameras on campus.
Noah Sensing spoke during the meeting, urging the board to address the Flock cameras across both campuses.
“I would just like to ask, please, pretty please, do whatever is in SGA’s power … Please get rid of these cameras! Take these cameras down!” Sensing said.
During his speech, Sensing mentioned using the website HaveIBeenFlocked.com, which searches audit logs within the Flock system, to discover that his girlfriend had been searched four times within the city of Kennesaw. Neither he nor his girlfriend is sure why she was searched, but they still feel uneasy, knowing she is being tracked wherever she goes.
When asked what he wants KSU students to know about Flock Safety, Sensing said, “They’re watching you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. They are watching you all the time, everywhere you go, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Celeste Putman also spoke at the student body government meeting. For nearly 15 minutes, she passionately argued that installing Flock cameras across campus does not make students feel safer. Putman suggested that the university should instead focus on the religious demonstrators who frequently gather on the Kennesaw campus green.
“Those signs say things like, ‘You’re going to hell for being gay. You’re going to hell for being Black’,” Putman said. “Do you think that makes anybody here feel safe? No.”
These groups frequently appear on Kennesaw’s campus, with their latest visit on Friday, October 9.
Putman asked the board why religious groups such as these are allowed on campus, but its own students are removed for protesting Flock cameras.
On September 25, Associate Dean of Students Amber Lesicko asked Isaac Thoman to leave campus.
In a video posted to Instagram with 7,000 views, Lesicko cited campus policy and told Thoman and his peers to remove their “structure,” a Flock device attached to a pole and anchored in a bucket.
In the video, Lesicko states, “It has everything to do with our policy, and our policy allows us to manage time, place, and manner. “Part of that manner is what you are allowed to have in your space, so because you don’t have a current reservation, none of these items can be here. You can be here as a student. You can talk and engage with students, but … all of those items need to go.”
Thoman insists that his rights were being negated in that moment, saying, “I believe we were completely in line with KSU’s stated policies when we were kicked out.”
Lesicko did not respond to requests for comment.
Another concern that Kennesaw students have is the cost of Flock cameras. According to DeFlock KSU, Kennesaw State University has spent an estimated $400,000 on Flock devices. Safe and Sound Security notes that Flock Safety Falcon LPR cameras cost $2,500–$3,000 per camera per year. Ravens can range from $8,500 to $35,000 per device depending on its reach.
Luca Compiani, a second-year history education major, addressed this matter at the student government meeting, saying, “They’re exceedingly expensive. There are probably many better things that you [the university] can spend money on.” Compiani suggested paying parking enforcement workers more, who currently earn a median wage of $18 an hour.
Compiani passionately opposes Flock Safety surveillance as a breach of privacy for United States citizens. He mentioned his family history as refugees from fascist Italy in the early 20th century and related it to today’s climate. He admits the country is not at the level of dictatorship and suppression Italy faced in the past, but insists it could be in the near future.
“This is how it starts,” Compiani said. “Mass surveillance is bad. These things are an idea that’s built into the very foundation of society being a social contract. We give up some of our freedoms so that we can have the conveniences and safety that we do, but those rights do not include the complete removal of privacy.”
