Johns Creek police operate 56 Flock Safety license-plate cameras and share the data with every law enforcement department running the system in Georgia, according to the JCPD 2025 Annual Report.

That statewide data-sharing comes as officers across Georgia face arrest and termination for misusing the same surveillance network. And a separate question is emerging for HOA-heavy cities like Johns Creek: private Flock cameras installed by homeowner associations operate outside municipal oversight, first reported by Atlanta News First on Monday, Oct. 5.

The misuse cases are stacking up. Gwinnett County police fired and arrested three officers for improper Flock searches, CBS News reported. The department cut its data retention period from 30 days to 15 and ordered retraining for all officers. The Savannah Police Department terminated four officers and two civilian employees over similar violations, with all six cases referred to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, according to WTOC. An Alpharetta officer resigned Aug. 5 after an internal investigation into improper searches, according to a WIRED investigation cited by the North Atlanta Star.

Alpharetta's Flock data alone is accessible to more than 2,000 police departments, colleges, airports and government agencies nationwide, that WIRED investigation found. Alpharetta, in turn, receives data from more than 1,300 organizations.

Atlanta News First's earlier reporting found at least 19 instances in a single year where Georgia officers were arrested or relieved of duty for misusing Flock's database for personal reasons, including tracking former romantic partners. A Sept. 23 U.S. Senate hearing examined the company's reach. Flock operates more than 120,000 cameras nationally.

The company, headquartered in Atlanta, also sells its cameras directly to HOAs. Flock says its readers are mounted at entrances to more than 6,000 private communities. Industry sources estimate the cameras cost $2,500 to $3,000 per camera per year on a lease model.

No specific Johns Creek HOA has been publicly identified as a Flock customer. But Johns Creek ranks among the top five communities on U.S. News & World Report's Best Places to Live list, and all five have Flock cameras operated by either municipalities or private entities.

Angela Davis, an HOA president in a metro Atlanta community, told Atlanta News First the Flock camera at her neighborhood entrance was installed before she joined the board.

"For those of us in this community, we want our safety, but we also want our privacy honored," Davis said.

HOA-operated cameras differ from city systems in one key way: volunteer board members, not police departments, control who gets access to the footage and data. Flock told Atlanta News First that HOA accounts limit access to board-authorized users, that every search is logged, and that data retention defaults to 30 days for private communities. No data is shared by default, the company said.

Flock does offer a "Safe List" for neighborhood customers that lets residents register their plates so footage is automatically deleted within that community. The opt-out does not cover other Flock cameras outside the neighborhood.

Residents in HOA communities with cameras can ask their boards what system was purchased, what it captures, which police agencies have access, how long data is retained and who audits searches. Board minutes and governing documents may show whether bylaws required a vote before installation.