DeFlockILM

DeFlockILM — Press & Media Kit

Sixteen North Carolina communities have already said no to Flock. Add your name ›  ·  The Cape Fear is under warrantless AI surveillance — it’s time to act.
DeFlockILM — Ending mass surveillance in the Cape FearCape Fear region, NC
For journalists

Press & Media Kit

DeFlockILM tracks Flock automated license plate reader surveillance in Wilmington, New Hanover County, and across North Carolina — and publishes the public records behind it. Reporters are welcome to the facts, the documents, and an interview. Everything here is on the record.

Boilerplate

What DeFlockILM is

DeFlockILM is a citizen-led effort to remove Flock ALPR surveillance cameras from Wilmington and New Hanover County, North Carolina. Founded by Wilmington attorney Mark Spencer Williams of Rice Law PLLC, the project files public-records requests, publishes the government’s own contracts and audit logs, tracks the statewide fight against ALPR surveillance, and gives residents a direct way to press their elected officials. Its work spans New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, Columbus, and Onslow counties, the New Hanover beach towns, and all sixteen UNC System universities. In September 2026, New Hanover County’s commissioners voted 4–0 to cancel the Sheriff’s Flock contract after DeFlockILM’s campaign.

Copy the paragraph above freely.

Fast facts

The numbers, sourced

~2.98 million

Searches of New Hanover County’s Flock network in about 16 months — with the name of every searching agency and officer redacted. Obtained by public-records request.

~$219,000

Value of New Hanover County’s Flock contract (#25-0364).

4 of 4

Cape Fear sheriffs — New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, and Columbus — confirmed to run Flock contracts.

~2,800

ALPR cameras mapped across North Carolina in our county-by-county dataset (crowdsourced map, cross-referenced by county).

16

UNC System universities served with individual ALPR public-records requests — one filing per school, tracked separately.

90 days

The retention cap North Carolina law places on captured plate data (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-183.30 to .33).

Timeline

How the record was built

Feb 24, 2026
First public-records requests filed — the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office Flock/ALPR request and Wilmington PD’s camera-network policy. Wilmington PD produces Directive .07.17.
March 2026
Primary sources published: the New Hanover Flock contract, the Sheriff’s ALPR standard operating procedure, and Wilmington’s Fusus operations records.
June 18, 2026
“Three Million Searches, Zero Names” — the county’s produced logs show 2,980,082 searches of its Flock network (Jan 23, 2025–Jun 5, 2026), with every searching agency and officer redacted. A demand letter follows, seeking the names.
June 28, 2026
DeFlockILM files ALPR/Flock records requests individually with each of the sixteen UNC System universities — one submission per school, through each institution’s own counsel or records portal. Dates and status are tracked separately in the records repository.
June 29–30, 2026
The sweep reaches the Cape Fear coast: Brunswick and Pender sheriffs, and the beach towns of Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Wrightsville Beach.
July 2026
NC A&T’s produced records reveal 1,390,776 ALPR searches — the first university audit obtained.
July 7, 2026
A request exposes the Sheriff’s Office ShadowDragon / Carahsoft social-media-surveillance procurement.
July 10, 2026
New requests to New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington seek any Leonardo/ELSAG “SignalTrace” device-tracking equipment.
Founder

Mark Spencer Williams

Mark Spencer Williams is the managing attorney at Rice Law, PLLC in Wilmington, North Carolina, and the founder of DeFlockILM. He has filed and published public-records requests to New Hanover County, the surrounding Cape Fear counties, the New Hanover beach towns, and every university in the UNC System, and has served demand letters seeking the release of redacted Flock audit records.

For reporters

Source documents — download directly

Every file below was obtained through a North Carolina public-records request and is free to cite. Originals, unaltered.

PDFNew Hanover County Flock contract (#25-0364)↓ PDFThe 2,980,082-search network audit — every name redacted↓ PDFSheriff’s Office ALPR standard operating procedure↓ PDFWilmington PD automated license plate reader records↓ PDFWilmington PD Fusus / ‘STING Center’ operations↓ PDFDemand letter: release the redacted audit (NHCSO)↓ PDFNC A&T University Police ALPR data (ZIP)↓ PDFWinston-Salem State University: the Flock contract, ALPR policy (G.O. 300-09), and the Network Audit — 8 Falcon cameras (~$42K/24 mo); the campus network was searched 1,430,185 times in a quarter, ~86% from outside NC (Internet Archive)↓ PDFWCU: our July 16 deficiency letter — a 365-day retention answer against a 90-day statutory cap↓ PDFKure Beach: the complete file — the request, all productions, the 2.56M-search network audit, and all correspondence (Internet Archive)↓ PDFNew Hanover County: the files we have received — contract, policies, the 2.98M-search audit, and the County Attorney correspondence (Internet Archive)↓ PDFNew Hanover County: the full search audit by itself — all 2,980,082 rows (19 CSV files, 52 MB ZIP)↓ PDFCarolina Beach: the complete production — everything the Town gave us, unaltered (Internet Archive)↓ PDFPender County Sheriff’s Office: the August 3 production — the 364-search Organization Audit, ALPR policy, SBI MOU, invoices and PO (Internet Archive)↓ PDFCarolina Beach: our July 17 deficiency letter — four categories produced nothing, and the contract their own invoices prove exists↓ PDFKure Beach: the original request (a documented stall)↓ PDFKure Beach: the Chief’s response — “two to three months”↓ PDFKure Beach: our July 10 demand letter on the stall↓ PDFKure Beach: the complete production — everything they gave us, unaltered (ZIP)↓ PDFKure Beach: our July 14 deficiency letter — 825 searches, and the questions it raises↓ PDFUNC Greensboro: the university’s response — “no agreements with Flock” (staff emails redacted)↓ PDFUNC Greensboro: the complete production — the Rekor contract, purchase order & renewal quote (ZIP)↓ PDFLeonardo ‘SignalTrace’ device-tracking brochure↓ PDFNC ALPR litigation memo (for attorneys)↓ PDFDeFlockILM one-page fact sheet↓

Browse the full records repository → The records-request tracker →

Assets

Photos, flyer & handles

Free to use with credit to DeFlockILM.org.

Find us on TikTok @deflockilm and online at DeFlockILM.org. A high-resolution logo is available on request.

Media contact

Talk to us

Mark Spencer Williams · Rice Law, PLLC · Wilmington, NC

Email for an Interview

Mark@DeFlockILM.org

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