Metro Atlanta Residents Push Back Against Mass Surveillance Under Flock Safety

Metro Atlanta residents are speaking out against the growing mass surveillance throughout the city.

Residents across metro Atlanta are raising concerns about expanding mass surveillance, warning that the growing program is leaving communities uneasy.

On April 13, the Dunwoody City Council approved a contract with Atlanta-based surveillance tech company Flock Safety. Meanwhile, in DeKalb County, the expanding network tied to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center is fueling concerns among residents who say the increased surveillance makes them feel watched rather than protected, Capital B News reports.

It “certainly feels like an invasion of privacy,” said DeKalb resident Brian Page.

Page’s concerns about the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center—often called “Cop City”—reflect a broader issue. Built on 85 acres of one of Atlanta’s last urban forests, the site is now part of a massive surveillance network of more than 60,000 cameras linked to law enforcement across the metro area.

For many Black residents, the project replaced a vital green space with a heavily monitored facility, that raised concerns about environmental impacts, public health, and increased digital surveillance in their communities.

Meanwhile, in Dunwoody, Jason Hunyar and his pregnant wife have been outspoken at city council meetings, raising concerns about Flock Safety. Despite resident pushback, officials approved the contract. In a statement, a Flock spokesperson disputed Hunyar’s claims, saying Dunwoody served as a demonstration partner and had authorized select employees to test new products and features.

“It’s baffling to me. Less than a week after we find out that Flock employees are watching children at a pool, they decide to continue to do business,” said Hunyar, who was outraged after learning Flock executives were logged into cameras at Dunwoody’s Marcus Jewish Community Center.

Training at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center features mock city blocks equipped with cameras, license-plate readers, and real-time monitoring systems, allowing officers to practice AI-driven tracking and crowd control. A 2025 analysis found Atlanta has roughly 124 cameras per 1,000 residents—among the highest rates globally—with systems capable of flagging “suspicious” activity even without a reported crime.

Civil liberties advocates warn these tactics are already being used locally and could spread to departments nationwide. A Harvard University study across 10 cities found surveillance cameras are most concentrated in gentrifying neighborhoods, increasing as white residents move in, even after accounting for crime and income.

Atlanta ranks among the U.S. cities with the most Black neighborhoods gentrified since 1980. As property values rise, policing often intensifies; one analysis found arrests increase alongside even modest gains in home values. Together, the data suggest redevelopment in Black communities is frequently paired with expanded surveillance and enforcement.

All the while, concerns about Flock Safety are spreading across metro Atlanta, as its tools—from license plate readers to surveillance cameras and gunshot detection—expand nationwide. In Marietta, a Cobb County meeting drew pushback from a product manager over local contracts with the company. At Emory University, a coalition of students, faculty, and staff submitted a petition with over 1,000 signatures calling to remove license plate readers, end the school’s contract, and launch a transparent review of campus surveillance.

As Georgia-based surveillance firms expand nationwide and cities push back over ties to immigration enforcement and protest policing, the debate in Atlanta is taking on national significance. Residents in Atlanta are joining a growing national movement pushing back on surveillance technology—a decentralized, cross-partisan effort that has led to at least 50 canceled or rejected contracts, or the removal of Flock cameras, over the past year, according to DeFlock.

Hunyar said his concerns center on “security, auditability, and transparency,” arguing that those standards are essential in any system of mass surveillance. For Atlanta community organizer Kamau Franklin, the development is unwelcome but unsurprising, saying it aligns with the broader trajectory of gentrification in Atlanta.

“The surveillance system, the environmental issues, and the gentrification of Atlanta go hand in hand,” Franklin said. “The focus and money poured into specialized police units and cameras feels far outstripped by anything invested in housing, green space, or jobs.”