You were told these cameras were for catching car thieves.

That’s the pitch, anyway. Across Wisconsin, an Atlanta company called Flock Safety has wired our roads with automatic license-plate readers — cameras that photograph your plate, your car’s make, color, dents, and bumper stickers, then store it all in a searchable database. The promise was simple: public safety. Stolen cars. Amber Alerts. Bad guys.

So let’s talk about who’s actually getting watched.

In just the past year, four different Wisconsin law enforcement officers have been accused of using police surveillance tools to track people in their own lives — girlfriends, ex-partners, a wife, a coworker. As the ACLU of Wisconsin put it, this is a documented trend of officers abusing this technology to stalk and harass people, “in most cases women.”

That’s not a glitch in the system. That is the system. And it’s exactly the kind of thing we exist to untangle here.

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First: how big is this, really?

Bigger than you think. More than 200 Wisconsin law enforcement agencies use Flock cameras or similar plate readers, according to a Wisconsin Examiner analysis — the ACLU of Wisconsin puts the number at at least 221. Nationally, Flock has contracts with more than 5,000 agencies, and crowdsourced mapping project DeFlock has logged over 76,000 readers around the country. You can check your own area on DeFlock’s map right now.

Here’s the part the brochure skips: that data doesn’t stay home. Flock runs a shared network, so one department’s footage can be searched by agencies across the country — including federal ones. A Wisconsin Examiner analysis found that 11 of 13 Wisconsin county sheriffs’ offices that have partnered with ICE appeared in Flock audit data. In Verona, one alder reported the city’s system was searched 974 times by federal agencies in a single month.

So when a politician posts about who’s “dangerous” in Wisconsin — the post that kicked off our very first episode — remember that the surveillance dragnet they’re cheering for is the same one quietly logging your movements, too.

The pattern: caught by accident, not by oversight

Walk through the Wisconsin cases and you’ll notice something chilling — almost none of them were caught by the systems that were supposed to catch them.

* Milwaukee: Officer Josue Ayala was charged with misconduct after prosecutors say he used Flock nearly 180 times over about two months to track someone he was dating and that person’s ex. He resigned.

* Menasha: Officer Cristian Morales is facing felony misconduct charges and was bound over for trial over allegations he used Flock to track a woman — caught only after a complaint was made to a different department, not through his own agency’s oversight.

* Kenosha County: Sheriff’s Deputy Frank McGrath resigned with severance pay after internal investigators found he used the department’s Flock system to monitor a coworker he was romantically involved with. Severance. On the way out the door.

* Greenfield: Police Chief Jay Johnson is facing felony misconduct charges for allegedly having a department-owned pole camera installed at his own home to watch his wife during their divorce — against the explicit advice of the city attorney.

And it’s not just the dramatic cases. From January to June 2025, the Wauwatosa Police Department alone ran nearly 1,900 plate searches whose only stated justification was “investigation,” the ACLU found. Milwaukee logged that same vague word more than 1,000 times in a year. An officer doesn’t have to say why they’re looking you up. They just type a word and hit search.

💬 Your turn: How would you even know if an officer ran your plate?

Why this is a public health story, not just a privacy one

Here’s the lens that changes everything.

About 80% of our health outcomes are shaped outside the doctor’s office — in the conditions of our lives, including whether we’re safe. For a survivor of domestic or intimate-partner violence, being located is not an abstract privacy concern. It’s the threat. Stalking and obsessive location-monitoring are among the most well-established warning signs that an abusive situation is escalating toward serious harm. A tool that tells someone exactly where your car has been isn’t neutral in that context — it’s an accelerant.

The Milwaukee Common Council saw it plainly. In a letter to the city’s Fire and Police Commission, four alders warned that a system like Flock can be weaponized against residents, “including survivors of domestic violence,” journalists, and advocates. Add to that list the people newly at risk under the current federal climate: immigrants, and those seeking or providing abortion care — both already named by Wisconsin residents fighting these contracts.

This is what a feminist systems lens makes visible: a “safety” technology, marketed to protect us, lands hardest on the people our systems already fail — disproportionately women, queer and trans folks, immigrants, and survivors. The danger isn’t theoretical. It has a paper trail.

📺 Want the deeper version? Episode 1 connects this exact pattern to a sheriff’s race in Chippewa County. Watch or read it here — then come back.

The systems failure underneath all of it

Notice the through-line. In case after case, misuse surfaced because a victim spoke up or another agency flagged it — not because Wisconsin has any real, consistent oversight. There’s no statewide requirement to publicly report how these searches are used. Officers log nonsense justifications. Data flows out of state and to federal agencies with little transparency. And there’s no statewide system to make sure a flagged officer’s record reliably follows them from one department to the next.

It’s the same root we keep hitting on this show: power + access + a culture that protects its own − accountability. A barrel built without a bottom.

The good news? People are pushing back, and it’s working. Since 2025, Wisconsin communities including Appleton, Oshkosh, Sturgeon Bay, McFarland, and Verona have moved to end or decline Flock contracts. Milwaukee restricted officer access and banned facial recognition. The ACLU of Wisconsin is pushing for basic guardrails: annual public reporting, a ban on out-of-state data sharing, “sunset” clauses that force regular reauthorization, and local Community Control Over Police Surveillance (CCOPS) ordinances that put the decision back in residents’ hands.

What you can actually do (10 minutes, real impact)

* Find out if you’re being watched. Look up your community on DeFlock’s map.

* Ask one question at one meeting. Does your city/county use Flock? Who can access the data? Is it shared with federal agencies, and for how long is it stored? You have the right to ask — and to request those records.

* Back local control. Ask your council about a CCOPS ordinance or, at minimum, public annual reporting on surveillance use.

* Vote like it matters — because it’s a public-health intervention. Sheriffs and many of these decisions are local and elected. That’s the lever you actually control.

* Share this. Send it to one person in your town. That’s how this moves.

Your safety is a health outcome. Surveillance is a determinant of it. And right now, in Wisconsin, the people deciding how these cameras get used are mostly doing it without you in the room. Let’s change who’s in the room.

☕ Support independent, evidence-based work like this:

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If you or someone you love is experiencing domestic violence, you’re not alone and it’s not your fault. National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. In Wisconsin, End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin can connect you to local resources.

Three ways to be part of this work:

👀 See a pattern? Say something. Submit a tip or topic idea — anonymous welcome.

🗣️ Lived it? Share your story — you set the terms.

🔬 Work inside these systems? Join the conversation as an expert or advocate.

All submissions are reviewed by a human. All are handled with care.

This article is commentary and analysis based on public records, official statements, and published reporting, all linked above. Individuals charged with crimes are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Opinions are the author’s own.

Real question for the comments: the board flagged him, his own deputies flagged him, the DA flagged him — and he still can’t be easily removed. So who’s actually accountable to you? Have you watched this play out in your own county?

Want every receipt and a written summary?

Read the companion article where you’ll find all sources, links, and the full breakdown.

If you or someone you love is experiencing domestic violence, you're not alone and it's not your fault. National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. In Wisconsin, End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin can connect you to local advocates.

Three ways to be part of this work:

👀 See a pattern? Say something. Submit a tip or topic idea — anonymous welcome.

🗣️ Lived it? Share your story — you set the terms.

🔬 Work inside these systems? Join the conversation as an expert or advocate.

All submissions are reviewed by a human. All are handled with care.

Disclaimer: This episode is commentary and analysis based on public records, official government statements, and published news reporting — all linked in the companion article. Travis Hakes was not criminally charged. References to the investigation, the Brady/Giglio list, and the 19–1 no-confidence vote describe documented, official actions taken by the relevant public bodies, not criminal findings. Opinions and characterizations are those of the host. Viewers are encouraged to review the linked primary sources and reach their own conclusions. This is not legal advice.