Cherry Hill Mall records the license plate, location and time of every vehicle entering its parking lots. The data is stored for 30 days and can be shared with law enforcement in real time, according to the mall's own disclosure page.

Unlike Cherry Hill Township's government-run cameras, the mall's system faces no public records requirements and no municipal oversight. That gap is drawing attention from DeFlock South Jersey, a local privacy group that made the Route 38 shopping center the first stop on its inaugural "camera tour" in August.

The Philadelphia Inquirer first reported Friday on the growing scrutiny of private businesses using automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, across South Jersey.

A mall spokesperson declined to tell the Inquirer what brand of cameras the mall uses or how many are installed, citing security concerns. The mall is owned by Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT).

The mall's disclosure page says its unnamed third-party camera provider has access to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database through agreements with law enforcement. On-site security staff, mall management and PREIT corporate employees can all log into the system. The mall says it will hand over plate data when served with a court order and may share it with law enforcement or a business partner during an internal security investigation.

It is not used for marketing, the mall states.

Local group pushes back

DeFlock South Jersey formed over the summer of 2026 when privacy-minded residents began attending town council meetings and filing public records requests about municipal surveillance contracts. In August, the group took its message to private businesses with a camera tour that hit the Cherry Hill Mall, a Lowe's in Lawnside and a Home Depot in West Berlin.

At the mall, one member wore a life-size, homemade Flock costume with white Mickey Mouse-style gloves and pointed up at cameras. Bill Helfand, 81, held a sign reading "Big Brother is watching you."

"If Home Depot wants to give up somebody else's information, they can do it," Helfand told the Inquirer.

Adam Sheridan, a DeFlock South Jersey organizer, said the cameras are easy to miss until you train yourself to look. He spotted Flock-brand readers at the Gloucester Premium Outlets this summer after he started scanning every telephone pole.

Why private cameras worry advocates

Sarah Hamid, director of strategic campaigns at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), told the Inquirer that private businesses using ALPR surveillance leave "less of a paper trail" when data is misused, compared with government agencies subject to public records laws.

The concern is not hypothetical. The Inquirer cited a 404 Media report that local Texas law enforcement shared Flock data collected at Home Depot and Lowe's parking lots with federal immigration authorities. Flock Safety has said it does not have a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Home Depot has said it does not grant license plate reader access to federal law enforcement.

Cherry Hill's own cameras winding down

The private surveillance questions come as Cherry Hill Township phases out its own plate readers, as the Inquirer reported in September. Mayor Dave Fleisher announced Sept. 14 that the township will not renew its Flock Safety contract. The township's 10 government-owned cameras will be removed when the contract expires Dec. 31.

The police department was evaluating Axon cameras as a potential replacement as of September. Any new system would require township approval and would not connect to the Flock network.

More than 200 cities nationwide have ended ALPR contracts since the start of 2026, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

DeFlock South Jersey's mascot "Flocky" is scheduled to appear Saturday, Oct. 10 at a Home Depot in Lawnside.