A backlash against Flock's automated license plate cameras is turning into vandalism, and the cost of replacing them falls on taxpayers, not the company.

• People who never agreed to the cameras are cutting them down in growing numbers.
• Flock owns the cameras, but local city councils pay for them and pay again to put them back up.
• That setup means the company loses nothing when a camera is destroyed, and the town covers the bill.
• Tearing them down is destruction of private property, so the people doing it can be charged.
• The route that actually changes anything is pressuring the city council that signed the contract.

Outlook: Expect more damaged cameras and more repair bills until local governments revisit the contracts themselves.