> but is not outside the realm of something a well-funded police department could do

One officer would absolutely not be able to record on that piece of paper every single license plate that passed through a busy intersection. Not even close.

The number of officers that _would_ be required to do so would absolutely be "outside the realm of possibility" for even a well-funded police department.

That's why flock is different. It's a level of scale that was previously—despite your assertions—impossible.