Illinois college says Flock refused its request to cancel camera contract
Elgin Community College says Flock Safety rejected its October 2025 request to remove six cameras, and the cameras stayed until the contract expired in April 2026. Coverage relies on the Chicago Sun-Times' reporting of the college president's account.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2Elgin Community College in Illinois had six Flock Safety cameras installed in April 2025 to "enhance the safety and security of students." The VergeLC “In April of 2025, Elgin Community College had six Flock safety cameras installed to “enhance the safety and security of students.”” Read at The Verge ↗ ReasonRC “When Elgin Community College hired Flock Safety to install six surveillance cameras in April 2025” Read at Reason ↗ Left · 1By September 2025 the administration had concerns that Flock was sharing data with Customs and Border Patrol, that camera feeds were not properly secured, and that both law enforcement and company employees were abusing access to the data, according to The Verge. The VergeLC “the school’s administration grew concerned that Flock was sharing data with Customs and Border Patrol, that camera feeds were not properly secured” Read at The Verge ↗ Right · 1Reason, citing the Sun-Times, adds that Flock had allowed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to access over 80,000 of its cameras, that ICE arrested a student near the campus in September 2025, and that more than half of Elgin's students are Latino, with enrollment beginning to suffer, according to President Peggy Heinrich. ReasonRC “Flock allowed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to access over 80,000 of its cameras. In September 2025, ICE arrested a student near Elgin's campus.”“More than half of Elgin's students are Latino, Heinrich told the Sun-Times, and enrollment began to suffer.” Read at Reason ↗
Right · 1Reason also notes the company's statement that in August 2025 it publicly announced it would no longer conduct pilot projects with federal agencies. ReasonRC “"In August of 2025, Flock publicly announced it would no longer conduct pilot projects with federal agencies," according to the company.” Read at Reason ↗ Mixed · 2The college asked Flock in October 2025 to cancel the contract and remove the cameras. According to Heinrich, Flock rejected the request, saying it had not breached the contract; Reason, quoting the Sun-Times, says this came within a day. The VergeLC “Flock rejected the request, saying it had not violated its contract.” Read at The Verge ↗ ReasonRC “Within a day, Heinrich said, Flock rejected the request and refused to uninstall the equipment on the basis that the company had not breached their agreement.” Read at Reason ↗ Mixed · 2In December the school asked again, offering to pay for the remaining five months of the contract, and got no response, according to the Sun-Times as relayed by both outlets. The VergeLC “offered to pay for the remaining five months of the contract, and still requested that the cameras be removed. They were met with silence.” Read at The Verge ↗ ReasonRC “The school reached out again in December, offering to pay out the rest of the contract, but according to Heinrich, Flock did not respond.” Read at Reason ↗
Mixed · 2College staff then covered the cameras with black trash bags and zip ties; Heinrich said workers in an unmarked vehicle, which she assumed was Flock's, repeatedly removed the coverings, and the cycle continued until the contract expired in April 2026, when Flock removed the cameras. The VergeLC “workers in an unmarked vehicle, which Heinrich assumed belonged to Flock, repeatedly removed the coverings.” Read at The Verge ↗ ReasonRC “This continued until the school's contract expired in April, when Flock finally removed the cameras.” Read at Reason ↗ Right · 1Reason places the case in a wider pattern: it cites Wired reporting that under Flock contracts the company retains ownership of the cameras, so cities bear replacement costs if they are damaged, and describes other places, including Austin, Texas, and Lucas County, Ohio, where Flock use continued or was contested after cancellation attempts. ReasonRC “Per Flock contract conditions, the company retains ownership of the products it sells to cities," Caroline Haskins reports at Wired.”“Plenty of jurisdictions have kept using Flock even after supposedly canceling the service, though it's usually the police who fight the cancellations.” Read at Reason ↗ Right · 1Reason also says police in Illinois searched the Flock database over 4,000 times for immigration-related reasons between June 2024 and May 2025, despite a state law prohibiting that use. The article does not include a Flock response on the Elgin dispute beyond its August 2025 policy statement. ReasonRC “Between June 2024 and May 2025, police in Illinois searched the Flock database over 4,000 times for immigration-related reasons, even though a state law prohibits ALPRs' use for that exact purpose.” Read at Reason ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left1 outlet
- Framing
- Short item summarising the Sun-Times report, framing the covering-and-removal episode as a strange and somewhat sinister turn.
- Emphasis
- The college's privacy and security worries and the back-and-forth over the coverings.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not give ICE access figures, the student arrest, or the wider pattern of Flock cancellation disputes.
- Charged language
- “strange and somewhat sinister turn”
- For example
-
“That’s when things took a strange and somewhat sinister turn.” — The Verge
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- Longer commentary using the college case to criticise Flock and the growth of surveillance, with a civil-liberties angle.
- Emphasis
- ICE access, Illinois immigration-related searches, contract ownership terms and other places where cancellation failed.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Gives Flock's side only through its August 2025 policy statement; states as fact in the lede that Flock technicians cut the bags down, though the source account is Heinrich's assumption.
- Charged language
- “surveillance state”“peculiar twist”
What every side reports
- Elgin Community College had six Flock cameras installed in April 2025.
- The college asked Flock in October 2025 to remove them and Flock rejected the request, saying it had not breached the contract.
- A December offer to pay out the contract drew no response.
- Staff covered the cameras with trash bags and workers repeatedly removed the coverings.
- Flock removed the cameras when the contract expired in April 2026.
Where accounts differ
-
Who removed the coverings
- Left
- Heinrich assumed the workers in an unmarked vehicle belonged to Flock.
- Right
- Same account, relayed from the Sun-Times; Reason's headline lede states that Flock technicians cut the bags down.
Elgin Community College organisation
Through President Peggy Heinrich, the college says it sought to cancel over data-sharing and security concerns and out of caution for its students, and that Flock refused to remove the cameras.
“out of an abundance of caution for our students.” — Reason
“According to Elgin’s President Peggy Heinrich, Flock rejected the request, saying it had not violated its contract.” — The Verge
Flock Safety organisation
Flock, as reported, said it had not breached the contract and rejected the request; it says it stopped federal pilot projects in August 2025 and that customers own their data.
“Flock rejected the request and refused to uninstall the equipment on the basis that the company had not breached their agreement.” — Reason
“Flock says repeatedly that customers own all data that their cameras capture” — Reason
Left1 article
-
A college in Illinois tried to cancel its Flock contact and it refused
Critical Brief recap of the Sun-Times report that treats Flock's behaviour as odd and ominous.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right1 article
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ReasonRC ·
An Illinois College Tried To Cancel Its Flock Contract. Flock Refused.
Critical Opinionated analysis casting the dispute as an example of surveillance overreach and hard-to-exit contracts.
- 11 Oct 21:06 First The VergeLC A college in Illinois tried to cancel its Flock contact and it refused
- 13 Oct 18:45 +45h 39m ReasonRC An Illinois College Tried To Cancel Its Flock Contract. Flock Refused.
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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