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Plate readers © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · © OpenMapTiles
North Carolina has 3,976 mapped plate readers. 3,442 carry the Flock Safety tag. Most don't say who runs them.
Charlotte has the most (253), then Raleigh (106) and Gastonia (72). The first Flock-tagged one was mapped Nov 13, 2024. A plate reader keeps a record of each car that passes.
See who runs them · Cameras in North Carolina · What is a Flock camera? · Flock cameras in the US · Maps like DeFlock
Flock cameras in North Carolina by city
A city links to its own page once enough readers are mapped there.
Plate readers mapped in North Carolina each month
Plate readers of any maker added to the map each month, not only Flock-tagged ones. Lighter bars are estimates from the first-mapped dates of current points.
CamsAhead started its daily change log on October 22, 2026. How the map changed.
Flock-tagged readers first mapped each month
Each row counts the Flock-tagged readers first mapped that month, newest first. Months with none are left out. Each one carries the date it was first mapped.
| Month | First mapped that month | Top cities |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2026 | 82 | 9 in Charlotte and 7 in Mocksville |
| Sep 2026 | 138 | 15 in Winston-Salem and 12 in Gastonia |
| Aug 2026 | 303 | 19 in Shallotte and 18 in Charlotte |
| Jul 2026 | 416 | 58 in Charlotte and 13 in Gastonia |
| Jun 2026 | 287 | 49 in Charlotte and 8 in Pinehurst |
| May 2026 | 181 | 11 in Raleigh and 9 in Charlotte |
| Apr 2026 | 202 | 14 in Burlington and 14 in Charlotte |
| Mar 2026 | 270 | 21 in Monroe and 17 in Raleigh |
| Feb 2026 | 158 | 9 in Greensboro and 6 in Charlotte |
| Jan 2026 | 249 | 24 in Charlotte and 18 in Greensboro |
| Dec 2025 | 305 | 20 in Mooresville and 14 in Raleigh |
| Nov 2025 | 345 | 25 in Waxhaw and 16 in Charlotte |
Who runs the Flock cameras in North Carolina
Most don't say who runs them. The EFF's Atlas of Surveillance lists 130 agencies in North Carolina that use plate readers.
- Private operators, not named 128
- UNC Chapel Hill Police Department 14
- Wake Forest Police Department 10
- City of Oxford 9
- City of Henderson 4
- Fayetteville Police Department 4
- Transylvania County Sheriff's Office 4
- Madison County Sheriffs Department 3
- Transylvania County SO 3
- WakeMed 3
Plate reader law in North Carolina
| Topic | North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Status | Law |
| Law | N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 20-183.30 to 20-183.33 (Article 3D) |
| What it does | Requires a written policy before police use plate readers, limits data to law enforcement purposes and not traffic enforcement, caps retention at 90 days and makes the data confidential. |
| How long it is kept | 90 days, unless preserved by a sworn request or a search warrant (§ 20-183.32(a)-(c)) |
| Who it can be shared with | Disclosed only to a criminal justice officer at a state or local agency or a similar federal official for a legitimate law enforcement purpose on written request; not sold (§ 20-183.32(e)) |
| Public record? | 'confidential and not a public record as that term is defined in G.S. 132-1' (§ 20-183.32(e)) |
| Public records law | Public Records Law, N.C. Gen. Stat. ch. 132 |
| Checked |
See North Carolina plate reader law next to the other states.
Flock cameras in North Carolina: questions
How many Flock cameras are in North Carolina?
3,442 plate readers tagged Flock Safety are on the map in North Carolina, as of November 7, 2026. The real number may be higher or lower: the map shows only the cameras mapped so far.
Which cities in North Carolina have the most Flock cameras?
By mapped count: Charlotte (253), Raleigh (106) and Gastonia (72). The city list on this page shows each city with a Flock-tagged reader.
Is each mapped camera still there?
Not always. A point shows where someone mapped a camera. 37 of the 3,442 carry a date when a volunteer last checked them on the ground.
North Carolina's plate reader data
From OpenStreetMap, under the Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0. A free copy goes to anyone who asks: how it is made and how to ask.
Know when cameras in North Carolina change.
Free email alerts for new plate readers mapped near your places. One summary email a month.
- When a plate reader is first mapped near you
- New cameras mapped or reported near you
- What plate readers keep, and who runs them
- Your street, your distance, the camera types you pick
3,976 cameras listed or mapped in North Carolina so far.
Sources and updates
How this page was made: CamsAhead writes each page type once, then fills it with this place's data from the sources below.
- OpenStreetMap contributors: plate readers, data as of Nov 7, 2026; ODbL 1.0
- EFF Atlas of Surveillance: agencies that use plate readers, data as of Aug 2026; CC BY 4.0
- N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 20-183.30 to 20-183.33 (Article 3D): plate reader law, checked Oct 25, 2026
- Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Open Government Guide: public records law, checked Oct 25, 2026
Plate reader points are mapped by OpenStreetMap volunteers (data as of November 7, 2026).
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