Frequently asked questions

What are these cameras?

They are four solar-powered Flock Safety Falcon automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras, operated by the Hopatcong Police Department and mounted in Sussex County road right-of-way. They have been active since 2023 and are renewed through 2027. The cameras feed New Jersey's statewide ALPR network, known as NJ SNAP.

What do they record, and how much?

An ALPR photographs the plate of every passing vehicle, converts it to text, and logs the time and location of each sighting. The Borough's analytics show 3,185,635 reads in 2026 through July 9, roughly 15,000 to 22,000 per day.

What has it cost, and who pays?

$37,400 is documented to date across three billing cycles: $12,400 in Year 1, $11,000 in Year 2, and $14,000 in Renewal Year 1. The per-camera price rose from $2,500 to $3,000 at renewal. The custodian confirmed directly that no grant funding was used, so this is entirely Borough, meaning local taxpayer, money. What is not yet documented is which specific municipal budget line funds it, which remains an open question.

Who can see the data?

Access runs through NJ SNAP under New Jersey Attorney General Directive 2022-12, which provides broad access to captured read data among state, county, and local law enforcement agencies across New Jersey. The Borough has confirmed that 26 Hopatcong officers hold search accounts.

The Borough has not named any specific outside agency that has actually queried Hopatcong's data. It cites Directive 2022-12, Section 7.1, under which stored ALPR data is treated as a criminal investigatory record that is not shared outside law enforcement without a subpoena or court order, as the reason it does not track or disclose such a list. That explains the legal basis for withholding a list, but it does not answer whether any outside agency has actually searched the data.

How long is the data kept?

Footage auto-deletes on a rolling 30-day basis (7 days for Wing Replay).

Did residents get a say, and was there a public vote?

This is the central question of the site. Through a public records request, the Borough was asked for any Council vote, resolution, ordinance, or minutes authorizing the cameras, and for any press release, public notice, FAQ, or community presentation informing residents. It produced none of these, and answered "N/A" on public communications.

This is a documented gap, not proof by itself that nothing happened. Records can be absent because they do not exist, because they were withheld, or because they were not included in the response.

Was a law broken?

Not necessarily, and this site does not claim one was. New Jersey does not require a CCOPS-style public hearing or vote before a municipality acquires ALPR cameras. The question this site raises is whether residents should have had a say, and a public record, before a network logging millions of local vehicle movements a year was switched on.

Where are the cameras?

The specific locations were redacted on all four Sussex County road-opening permits (Nos. 190 through 193 of 2023). All four camera locations have since been identified through FlockHopper (dontgetflocked.com), a community-built ALPR map, not from the Borough, and are plotted on the camera map. These are community-sourced coordinates, not confirmed by the Borough or the county, since the Borough has never released the locations itself.

What is the data actually used for?

Across 864 documented searches, the most common reasons were motor vehicle theft or stolen vehicle (46.4 percent) and larceny or theft (12.3 percent). See the analytics page for the full breakdown.

Who runs this site, and is it affiliated with Flock or the Borough?

No. This site is not affiliated with Flock Safety or the Borough of Hopatcong. It is built entirely from records the Borough released under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act. See the about page for more.

How can I get involved?

See the take action page for ways to get involved, and the contact page to reach the site.