More than a dozen local law enforcement agencies across the country have used opioid settlement money to procure Flock cameras and other AI-powered automated license plate readers (ALPRs), an investigation by Mother Jones has found.
asserted
investigation → use → Jones
Settlement funds began flowing to states and localities in 2022, after major pharmaceutical companies agreed to resolve thousands of lawsuits over the industry’s role in the opioid crisis.
asserted
companies → flow → crisis
Altogether, state and local governments secured more than $50 billion in funds, to be paid out over 18 years, from the various manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies accused of fueling the deadly epidemic.
asserted
governments → secure → epidemic
Public health advocates hoped the settlements would provide lifesaving resources for historically underserved communities ravaged by opioid addiction.
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settlements → hop → addiction
But as the money has been disbursed, local officials have come under fire for putting crucial dollars toward policing instead of prioritizing addiction prevention, recovery, treatment, and harm reduction services: KFF Health News found that police spent settlement money on Tasers, firearm silencers, drones, and more; in West Virginia, some rural counties used the funds to pay off their jail bills.
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counties → disburse → bills
But little attention has been paid to how police departments have used those opioid funds to build out AI-powered surveillance networks like Flock, whose ALPRs have become increasingly popular with police even as they’ve drawn intense bipartisan pushback in the communities where they’ve been deployed.
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they → pay → communities
A review of meeting minutes, local reporting, state opioid expenditure disclosures, and invoices obtained via public records requests reveals that at least twelve sheriffs’ offices and police departments have since 2024 spent their opioid funds on Flock cameras.
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offices → obtain → cameras
Another seven law enforcement agencies used the money to purchase similar ALPR technology from competitors Motorola, Axon, and Verkada.
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agencies → use → Motorola
In sum, Mother Jones found that 19 agencies in ten different states spent more than $920,000 in opioid funds on Flock and other ALPRs, a likely undercount given the inconsistency with which opioid settlement expenditures are tracked and disclosed across states and local jurisdictions.
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expenditures → find → states
In city council and county commission meetings, police sought to convince local officials that the cameras were a good use of the opioid money because they would help catch drug traffickers and reduce drug-related crimes.
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they → seek → crimes
But Robyn Oster, director of policy at the nonprofit Partnership to End Addiction, said that this type of spending doesn’t honor the spirit of the settlements.
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type → say → settlements
“It’s just really not the way to make the most impact in addressing addiction,” said Oster.
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Oster → ’ → addiction
“While $50 billion may seem like a lot of funds, once it’s divided up over 18 years and thousands of localities, a lot of places really aren’t getting that much, particularly given the scope of the crisis…
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lot → seem → crisis
Whatever funds you’re spending on a camera, you’re not spending on getting someone into treatment.”
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you → spend → treatment
At a June 2025 meeting in Sunnyside, Washington—an agricultural hub where roughly one in five people live in poverty—council members were thrilled by the prospect of spending their opioid settlement money on a Flock camera.
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members → live → camera
Around $200,000 had been sitting, untouched, in the city’s coffers since 2022, even as the area faced a dire need for expanded treatment services: Yakima County lacks a medical detox center and has one of the highest overdose death rates in Washington state.
“We’ve had several people … in that strip mall next to the hotel … that have complained about drug use and things like that behind their business, and they’ve asked us to place a trailer there,” the Sunnyside police chief told city councilmembers.
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chief → sit → councilmembers
He requested the approval of $24,000 in opioid settlement funds to go to a one-year lease for a mobile Flock security trailer, which would integrate with the city’s existing Flock surveillance system.
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which → request → system
“I was trying to find creative ways to pay for one because $24,000 wasn’t in our budget this year,” he added, “but we’ve got this opioid settlement money, and if we’re tying it to the drug use problem we’re having at these hotels, I think we can justify the expenditure there.”
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we → try → expenditure
The city council unanimously voted to approve the police chief’s request.
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council → vote → request
“Can we afford two of them?” one councilmember asked with enthusiasm.
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councilmember → afford → enthusiasm
Thousands of miles away, in Ohio County, West Virginia, county commissioners also voted unanimously in favor of spending opioid money on Flock cameras.
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commissioners → vote → cameras
In September 2025, the commission approved the sheriff’s office’s request for six Flock ALPRs, totaling $57,900 for the first three years.
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commission → approve → years
According to meeting minutes, Chief Deputy Kent Lewis “said a representative from the company is able to come and give a presentation,” and “added that Walmart and Lowe’s use FLOCK, so we may be able to tie into their system as well.”
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we → accord → system
When one commissioner asked whether the cameras were an appropriate use of the funds, the deputy sheriff responded that they would “[help] track drugs coming into our area.”
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they → ask → area
Three months later, Sheriff H. Nelson Croft Jr. gave an update on Flock to the commissioners.
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Jr. → give → commissioners
According to meeting minutes, the system logged 28,000 license plate readings on Black Friday alone.
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system → accord → Friday
Ohio County has a population of around 40,000.
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County → have → 40,000
The surveillance industry has taken notice, explicitly encouraging cops to spend opioid money on the technology.
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industry → take → technology
A December blog post from the multinational security firm Leonardo called opioid settlement funds “a major new opportunity” for law enforcement to invest in license plate readers.
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enforcement → call → readers
“Eligible spending categories vary by state,” the blog post noted, but approved uses often include “LPR technology due to its role in detecting vehicles tied to drug trafficking, overdose events, and fugitive recovery.”
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uses → vary → trafficking
In June, 404 Media reported that Leonardo planned to add sensors to its ALPRs that “would also sweep up unique identifiers of mobile phones, wearables, and other Bluetooth-enabled devices” in passing cars, enabling the cameras to track not just cars but “the location of particular people.”
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that → report → people
Mother Jones identified four additional locations where local officials explored using opioid money to pay for Flock cameras but ultimately funded them through other parts of city or county budgets.
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officials → identify → budgets
In Green, Ohio, for instance, the city council approved the purchase of 14 Flock cameras in 2024, and the mayor stated at the time that the city could use $20,000 of opioid money to offset the cost.
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city → approve → cost
But Shelley Goodrich, Green’s director of finance, told me the city ultimately paid for the first two years of the contract using a different funding source.
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city → tell → source
“We were planning to use Drug Task Force funds beginning in 2026; however, we have not made any payments in 2026,” she wrote.
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she → plan → 2026
This month, the Green City Council voted against renewing its contract with Flock, citing concerns about privacy and oversight.
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Council → vote → privacy
In Etowah County, Alabama, commissioners authorized two disbursements from the opioid settlement fund to pay for ten Flock cameras in August 2024 and March 2025, totaling $42,267.
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commissioners → authorize → 42,267
But minutes from October 2025 show that the sheriff department’s budget was increased by $42,267, “to reimburse the Opioid Settlement fund for the FY 2024 and FY 2025 annual contract for the Flock safety cameras.”
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budget → show → cameras
The Etowah County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to questions about why it reimbursed the funds or whether it plans to use opioid money for future renewals of the Flock contract.
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it → respond → contract
Opioid spending on police surveillance technology isn’t limited to ALPRs.
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spending → limit → ALPRs
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
