Flock automated license plate-reading cameras are rapidly popping up all over the US. In some areas, they’re also going down pretty quick, too.
Widespread opposition to Flock surveillance cameras has highlighted their inaccuracies and potential for abuse by authorities. A movement to “deflock” cities includes everything from canceling municipal contracts to covering cameras with trash bags and various forms of physical vandalism.
Now, if you’re cruising through the fictional town of Los Santos (modeled after Los Angeles) in a new Grand Theft Auto 5 “mod,” you could be tracked by any of the 235 Flock cameras there. But you can also cash in $600 for each one you shoot down.
The mod (a custom addition to the game) is called Grand Theft Automated License Plate Reader. Morry Kolman, the mod’s creator, said the in-game Flock cameras are based on “custom-built” 3D models, which subject players to “seemingly inescapable surveillance.”
Almost like living amid Big Brother, these virtual cameras take pictures of you and track your movements. If you commit crimes in the game — like speeding or hitting pedestrians — the cameras will report you to the police. They’ll even occasionally file “false reports” on you, just like the real cameras sometimes do. Players can also save the images captured by the cameras for use in social media posts or as wallpapers.
And, because it’s Grand Theft Auto, you’re also allowed to fight back against the surveillance state, with access to weapons (like rocket launchers) that help you destroy the cameras. Once you’ve carried out an effective deflocking, you can pick up the mutilated remains and grab an in-game reward of $600 (the estimated value of the camera’s internal components based on a teardown conducted by Eyes Off Cedar Rapids). There’s also an integrated timer to keep track of how fast you deflock, allowing you to beat your PB.
A virtual protest
Cameras you destroy give you $600, based on the cost of parts for a real Flock camera.WTTDOTM
GTA 5 is chock-full of social commentary, from the dangers of consumerism to subtle critiques of extreme gamer behavior in characters like Trevor and Jimmy. The new Grand Theft Automated License Plate Reader mod builds on the general hatred toward and distrust of the massive Flock surveillance network adorning US roadways.
For some, it’s probably a fun (and less punitive) way to tap into unfulfilled vigilantism. But, according to Kolman, it also makes the game more difficult. “Not only does police surveillance become nearly impossible to evade, but representing Flock’s own history of inaccurate reporting, every time a player passes through a camera’s field of view, the mod creates a 1 in 20 chance that the ALPR will trigger a police chase without any cause,” according to the mod’s download page.
In many ways, the new mod is a reality check for real-world privacy. If having 235 cameras follow you around in GTA feels like an oppressive nightmare in a claustrophobic game world, just remember that the real Los Angeles County has more than 10 times that amount.
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