Skip to content

Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

Does Las Vegas have Flock license plate reader cameras?

Oona Milliken, The Nevada Independent
yes

Flock has hundreds of cameras in and around Las Vegas, according to DeFlock, which advocates against Flock and tracks its cameras. Some are owned by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, which uses the cameras for policing. 

Las Vegas is unusual because cameras have been donated by venture-capitalist Ben Horowitz, who has allocated millions for Flock technology in Vegas. Because the donations were private and made to a nonprofit connected to the Las Vegas police, taxpayers have little say in the technology’s implementation. 

Some experts warn the cameras can be misused by law enforcement — Flock has been used by police officers to track romantic partners — and have raised concerns about privacy infringement and the ethics of constant surveillance of citizens. 

Proponents say it is necessary to fight crime, and Horowitz has attributed drops in crime to cameras and other donations he’s made.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by newsrooms in the Gigafact network.

See all fact briefs

The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.

Learn More

Latest Fact Briefs

Are 1 in 4 Nevadans on Medicaid?

Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.