Elgin Community College installed six Flock safety cameras in April of 2025 as part of an effort to improve campus security. Within months, however, the institution’s leadership began raising serious concerns about the company’s data handling practices.
By September of 2025, college administrators had identified multiple issues with their arrangement with Flock. They expressed worry that the company was sharing camera footage with Customs and Border Patrol, that the video data was not sufficiently protected against unauthorized access, and that both law enforcement agencies and Flock employees were misusing their access to the recorded material. These concerns prompted the college to seek an exit from the relationship.
In October of 2025, Elgin Community College formally requested that Flock remove its cameras from campus. According to President Peggy Heinrich, the company declined, asserting that it had fulfilled all contractual obligations. When the college reached out again in December, offering to pay the remaining five months of the contract in exchange for removal of the equipment, Flock did not respond to the request.
Frustrated by the company’s lack of cooperation, college staff began physically covering the cameras with black trash bags and zip ties to prevent them from recording footage. However, workers in an unmarked vehicle, whom Heinrich believed represented Flock, repeatedly came to the campus and removed these coverings. This cycle of covering and uncovering continued for several months, with the college and the presumed company representatives in an ongoing standoff.
The situation resolved when the college’s contract with Flock expired in April of this year, at which point the company removed the cameras from campus.
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