Lake Forest operates 32 Flock license plate reader cameras that log vehicle details into a law-enforcement database shared with three neighboring police departments and at least two homeowners associations.
Officers do not need a warrant to search the system. The city has not held a public meeting on oversight of the growing network.
The cameras, mounted on poles along the downtown bike path, in Market Square and elsewhere, photograph passing vehicles and record make, model, color, unique features such as bumper stickers and GPS location, according to a Forest Scout investigation published Wednesday, Sept. 16.
"This is not what Flock cameras were advertised to be, and the City of Lake Forest has not been clear about the regulations of Flock cameras which makes me feel more unsafe in my town," Lake Forest High School senior Sarah Mulani told The Forest Scout.
$120,000 contract, expanding reach
Lake Forest signed its first Flock contract in July 2023 for nearly $120,000. Then-Police Chief Karl Waldorf said each leased camera would cost $2,500 a year. The network has since grown to 32 units.
The Lake Forest Police Department now shares Flock data with Highland Park, Vernon Hills and North Chicago. The city also confirmed partnerships with homeowners associations in the Academy Woods subdivision and along Knollwood Road, according to a city press release. The city stated that Sgt. Gualdoni has worked with those HOAs, which purchased their own Flock cameras and feed data to the police department.
A YouGov survey cited by The Washington Post on Aug. 28 found that 75% of Democrats and roughly 60% of independents and Republicans believe a warrant should be legally required for law enforcement to access license plate reader data.
HOA cameras raise oversight questions
The HOA arrangement is drawing scrutiny. Real estate reporter Eric Goldschein wrote in Realtor.com that a camera installed by "your HOA board is not subject to the same level of scrutiny and accountability as one installed by local police." Once connected to Flock's network, Goldschein wrote, it feeds the same nationwide searchable database law enforcement uses, whether or not any resident voted on it.
No public record of a resident vote authorizing the HOA-installed cameras has surfaced in city documents reviewed by The Forest Scout.
Misuse concerns beyond Lake Forest
No cases of Flock camera misuse by the Lake Forest Police Department have been reported, according to The Forest Scout. The technology has drawn scrutiny elsewhere.
In Prairie Grove, former police officer William Copp was indicted this summer for allegedly using Flock cameras to conduct hundreds of searches on his former partners, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. In Highland Park, a Flock camera was stolen on Aug. 7 amid nationwide backlash over privacy, according to Lake & McHenry County Scanner.
At a June 2026 forum in Waukegan hosted by the Antmound Foundation, criminal defense attorney Jacob Goldwater called Flock "a subscription service" and said law enforcement in one state can see activity in another through the network, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Students push for transparency
LFHS senior Elizabeth Tunney told The Forest Scout she looked up what the city had said about the cameras after learning of the installation but still could not get answers about how they were being used. Tunney said she sees the technology advancing and warned it could be "used for mal-intent very easily."
Mann, an LFHS law teacher, told The Forest Scout that if cameras capture activity inside a vehicle, such as a weapon on the floor, it presents a Fourth Amendment issue because individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy within their cars.
Lake Forest's specific data retention period for Flock images has not been publicly disclosed. At the June Waukegan forum, Waukegan Deputy Chief Craig Neil said his department stores images for 30 days and limits access to sworn officers with supervisor approval.
No City Council agenda item or public meeting on Flock camera oversight has been announced.
