Flock’s license plate readers are supposed to watch high-traffic roads for stolen cars. Residents of one Santa Clarita neighborhood say there’s one pointed at their homes instead.

On Race Street, in the neighborhood known as Little Tijuana, neighbors told ABC7 it’s the only part of Santa Clarita with Flock cameras off the main drag - and that at least one camera faces houses, not license plates.

“We came out one day,” resident Bioleta Herrera told Eyewitness News, “and the camera was directly facing our house. We were like, ‘Oh, no, no, that’s not gonna work.’”

Brett Haddoak, who is running for City Council on an anti-Flock platform, questions the placement: “if the stated purpose is a license plate reading device, you’re not going to get too many license plates looking at somebody’s houses.” He notes there’s no opt-out for people living in those few square miles.

Flock stands by the cameras: “Flock’s LPR cameras are installed facing roadways and only capture still images of the back of the vehicles,” the company said. “Our LPR cameras do not have live video capability.” It deferred questions about locations and deployments to the local agency.

The backdrop matters. ABC7 points to hundreds of documented cases of violations, including police illegally accessing the cameras. And in Little TJ, Herrera says ICE has been through the neighborhood four or five times a week since the camera went up.

Expect this one to stay loud through the City Council race.