Automated license plate readers have quietly spread across Arizona — mounted on poles at intersections, neighborhood entrances, and highways — logging where ordinary people drive, every day, with no warrant and no suspicion of any crime.
DeFlock Arizona exists to make one argument clearly and loudly: this is not policing, and it is not constitutional under Arizona law.
Why a whole site about it
Most people’s reaction to a camera on a pole is a shrug — “there are cameras everywhere.” That instinct is exactly the problem. A single photo in public is not the same thing as a statewide, always-on network that ties your movements to your name and keeps a searchable history of them.
Arizona’s Constitution draws that line sharply. Article 2, Section 8 says:
“No person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law.”
Arizona courts have read that “private affairs” clause to protect privacy more strongly than the federal Fourth Amendment. Suspicionless mass tracking runs headfirst into it.
What comes next
- The constitutional case, in plain language anyone can follow.
- Documentation of where these cameras actually are.
- News and updates — right here — as the legal and political fight develops.
If you’ve spotted an ALPR in your community, or you want to help, get in touch. This is a community effort, and it only works with people paying attention.