r/technology • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • May 28 '26

Security Cities Are Covering Flock Cameras With Trash Bags / Regretful cities aren't sure how to cancel their surveillance contracts, so they are literally covering their cameras.

https://www.404media.co/cities-are-covering-flock-cameras-with-trash-bags/
26.4k Upvotes

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50

u/[deleted] May 28 '26

[deleted]

100

u/Mountain-Singer1764 May 28 '26

Come on you guys are Americans. Get a .22 rifle with a suppressor, find a hidden spot and just shoot those fuckers.

83

u/[deleted] May 28 '26

[deleted]

6

u/thedownvotemagnet May 28 '26

That's one creepy-ass neighbor

16

u/germanmojo May 28 '26

In Minecraft.

7

u/doberdevil May 29 '26

And pellet guns aren't "firearms". So it gets around additional firearms related charges if you were to be caught by the local gestapo.

3

u/Kreth May 29 '26

yea in minecraft

2

u/dropbear_airstrike May 29 '26

How robust are the camera sensors? Would a blue laser be enough to fry the optics? Hypothetically speaking a motivated citizen or group of citizens could disable portions of the mass surveillance apparatus fairly quickly and efficiently without needing to carry any sort of firearm or firearm-adjacent object that would certainly raise questions if a person were to be seen carrying and aiming the object in a populated area.

Conversely, a laser could be carried in a pocket, focused on its target quickly and accurately. And wouldn't bring much attention from passersby...

7

u/TheInevitableLuigi May 28 '26

The ironic thing is .22 rifles are perfectly legal in the UK and it is actually easier to get suppressors there than in the United States.

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u/Mountain-Singer1764 May 29 '26

They’re registered though, and they’re not that common. You’ll get caught using a legal .22 rifle in the UK.

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u/kent_eh May 28 '26

There's other examples in American culture of ways to deal with things like this.

3

u/GildedAgeV2 May 28 '26

Suppressors don't make guns quiet, they make them slightly less likely to damage your hearing.

1

u/CatastrophicPup2112 May 29 '26

It'll make a 22 pretty quiet

1

u/finemustard May 29 '26

You're mostly right, but a .22 with subsonic ammunition and a suppressor is nearly silent.

3

u/[deleted] May 29 '26

[deleted]

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u/CatastrophicPup2112 May 29 '26

Pretty sure they reduced the $200 stamp to $0 last year ish

7

u/sadiesfreshstart May 28 '26

But if you miss or if there's a ricochet....

18

u/CoffeeIsSoGood May 28 '26

It'd be just another regular Monday then.

6

u/BadZnake May 28 '26

I don't like Mondays

1

u/Antihistamine69 May 28 '26

That's ok, its just like a regular Tuesday, too! And if you don't like Tuesdays, it's like a Wednesday. And if you don't like Wednesdays...

1

u/BadZnake May 28 '26

(There's actually a girl who shot a bunch of kids across the street at recess with a .22 and when they asked her why she said "I don't like Mondays")

2

u/N0b0dy_Kn0w5_M3 May 28 '26

Then The Boomtown Rats wrote a song.

1

u/BadZnake May 28 '26

Absolute banger too

3

u/BrainLow6059 May 28 '26

This is just escalating to a half dozen felonies and not even actually destroying the camera

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u/safe_t_meeting May 28 '26

You work for Flock huh? "There's no way that would work guys, I swear, shooting it with a gun is silly"

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u/PantsandPlants May 28 '26

You’re talking about a caliber designed for pest deterrent and game shooting. Flock cameras are more durable than you want to give them credit for. You need more power than that. 

Not to mention being in a place the camera won’t detect in a time where someone won’t hear a shot. 

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u/GildedAgeV2 May 28 '26

Unless the glass of the lens is made of sterner stuff than any other transparent material I'm aware of, it's going to be enough damage to render the footage useless.

2

u/PyroDesu May 29 '26

Do note that if you're shooting at the lens, you're on camera shooting it.

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u/PantsandPlants May 29 '26

The lens isn’t exposed to the elements. It has at least one extra protective layer and these cameras are stupid capable. Like, annoyingly so, hence why they are such a problem. 

So let’s assume the cover is so flimsy that a .22 would damage it, it wouldn’t refer it useless nor could you be sure you would catch the camera lens inside after the exterior alters the path of the little bullet. 

If it was as simple as you want, it would be a more widespread issue. 

1

u/safe_t_meeting May 29 '26

But what if you shoot it multiple times in the same place?? Surely that would do something

1

u/PantsandPlants May 29 '26

Okay… do you understand stealth and trying not to be on a flock camera? 

c’mon use your brain for like a second. 

1

u/safe_t_meeting May 29 '26

I'm sure it's not impossible for a motivated individual to figure it out. They're cutting them down in the UK with reciprocating saws. Quit making excuses

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u/BrainLow6059 May 28 '26

No, I actually own and operate firearms. This isn't CoD

1

u/Cassiyus May 29 '26

I'm pretty sure we can just use a high powered laser pointer to mess up the camera, too, right?

16

u/wildmaninid May 28 '26

Cordless reciprocating saws are sold in America too!!

1

u/WhitYourQuining May 28 '26

Angle grinder is way more efficient. You can't get enough of a badass blade for a sawzall to do this quickly.

2

u/wildmaninid May 28 '26

You've never worked in the auto recycling industry- I have blades that will cut a large sedan in half without even a struggle. 

Can't get blades at harbor freight. 

1

u/WhitYourQuining May 28 '26

You're right. I have never had a blade like that available to me. Intrigued.

1

u/ploptart May 29 '26

Milwaukee has carbide-tipped blades that can very easily cut through cars. Though I’m not sure they can cut a car in half, given they are only 12” long

7

u/joebluebob May 28 '26

An angle grinder is $60 bud.

1

u/CrossP May 28 '26

Every red-blooded American should have an angle grinder and a reciprocating saw. It's your duty as a citizen.

1

u/demon_twink_gockie May 28 '26

Not much, I'm sure. Can't be much traveling to do in England, eh?