A Flock automatic license plate reader faces west at the corner of College Road and Woodruff Avenue. Credit: Michael Goulet | Campus Photo Editor
Ohio State has revoked campus Flock camera access from an organization that partners with federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security.
It is not clear how much access, if any, federal agencies had to campus-located cameras, or for how long. Ohio State’s decision to drop the Northeast Ohio Regional Fusion Center came days after The Lantern asked about its presence on a list of agencies with which the university shares camera access. The list was obtained through a records request.
“Thank you for pointing this out,” university spokesperson Dan Hedman said in an email. “Their access has been terminated as of this week.”
The university also imposed restrictions on other agencies’ ability to use its camera data to make immigration related and reproductive health care keyword searches in June. That decision, and the more recent fusion center decision, coincide with months of national scrutiny and concerns over privacy and the cameras’ use in immigration enforcement, which have led some cities, including Columbus and Cleveland, to suspend and restrict their use.
Flock cameras are automatic license plate readers that capture and store images of every vehicle that passes their field of view, according to Flock’s website. Ohio State has at least 63 of these cameras, according to Hedman.
The cameras are small black boxes positioned under angled solar panels that are roughly three square feet, typically fastened to light, sign or independent poles in high traffic areas and other areas of concern. Flock owns the hardware and software that is licensed to subscribing agencies.
The Northeast Ohio Regional Fusion Center was one of roughly 400 law enforcement agencies Ohio State was sharing its Flock camera access with, according to the documents received by The Lantern. Given that the requested records were shared in June, the current exact number of agencies is unclear.
The Fusion Center lists Ohio Homeland Security, Cuyahoga County, Cuyahoga County of Ohio Security & Research, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, City of Cleveland and Cleveland Police among its partners. It’s also partnered with the Department of Justice, the FBI and Homeland Security. Homeland Security, in turn, houses ICE and Customs and Border Patrol.
“Fusion Centers are state-owned and operated centers that serve as focal points in states and major urban areas for the receipt, analysis, gathering and sharing of threat-related information between State, Local, Tribal and Territorial (SLTT), federal and private sector partner,” the Homeland Security website states.
There is nothing to suggest that the Fusion Center mishandled access to Ohio State’s Flock cameras, but its federal partners have drawn enough concern that the City of Cleveland suspended Flock camera access to the fusion center.
Cleveland City Council voted to end sharing the city’s Flock camera access with the fusion center on July 15, according to the city record and Ordinance 683-2026. The city’s Flock camera contract was also renewed for six months instead of Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s 12-month proposal.
Illinois is one of several states where criticism came after local law enforcement agencies’ Flock cameras were accessed by Homeland Security subsidiaries through now-cancelled pilot programs, which granted federal agency access without Illinois agencies’ permission.
“We clearly communicated poorly. We also didn’t create distinct permissions and protocols in the Flock system to ensure local compliance for federal agency users,” said Flock CEO Garrett Langley in a 2025 blog post. Ohio State recently imposed more regulations on its Flock camera use, according to Hedman.
“As of June, OSU has restricted search topics for both internal and external users such as (but not limited to) immigration and/or reproductive healthcare, and beginning later this fall we expect to implement regular audits,” Hedman said in an email.
Columbus police was among many local law enforcement agencies to make searches related to immigration on behalf of DHS subsidiaries, rather than granting them full access, said Columbus City Council member and Chair of Public Safety Emmanuel V. Remy in an Aug. 10 Council Public Safety & Criminal Justice Committee meeting.
“It identified more than 15,000 searches across the broader Flock network with a possible immigration-related search reason,” Remy said, referring to a Columbus police internal audit on its Flock usage.
Law enforcement agencies’ sharing of their Flock camera data and access is allowed, according to Flock.
“Any access to customer data by a federal agency, if it occurs at all, must be explicitly granted by a local customer and must comply with applicable law,” Flock states on its website.
Remy reinforced his belief in Flock’s value as a public safety tool and the importance of its responsible and transparent use during an Aug. 10 Council Public Safety & Criminal Justice Committee meeting.
The Columbus Police Department was subject to more public criticism when Columbus Police Chief Elaine R. Bryant said an officer, Melvin Tellis, used its Flock cameras to search the same license plates hundreds of times. This was during a Sept. 3 press conference with Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther.
“The officer has been relieved of duty pending the outcome of the investigation,” said Bryant. Columbus’ Flock cameras have been deactivated pending investigation, according to Ginther.
Columbus Police Department also created a transparency portal showing over 869,000 unique vehicles were detected by its Flock cameras and 3,853 searches were conducted in the last 30 days.
