Henrico County decides to eliminate Flock cameras
Henrico County has become the latest Virginia locality to end its agreement with Flock Safety, the makers of popular automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras.
“As a county, we have listened as our residents have shared legitimate concerns about Flock Safety, the proliferation of its cameras across the nation and whether the data collected is sufficiently safeguarded to protect the privacy of individuals in our community,” Board of Supervisors Chair Roscoe D. Cooper III wrote in a news release. “While we are confident that Henrico Police has used ALPR data appropriately for legitimate law-enforcement purposes only, we cannot ignore the potential for misuse of system data by others. Ending this contract is the right thing to do for our residents and community.”
The county said it will review other options as it unwinds the Flock contract.
Henrico's Flock usage was in the news earlier this summer, when 10 fire investigators had their access revoked because they were not allowed to access the system under state law.
Neighboring Goochland County ended its contract with Flock at the end of August.
State Sen. Glen Sturtevant, a Republican who represents most of Midlothian and southern Chesterfield, has called for a complete ban at the state level, citing safety and privacy concerns.
Last week, a Chesterfield County Police Department employee was arrested for misusing the county’s system.
Eleanor Shaw
On Sept. 30, a James City County police officer was similarly charged with five felony counts of computer invasion of privacy, three misdemeanor counts of computer invasion of privacy and five misdemeanor counts of improper use of the license plate readers by law enforcement.
Police data showed Henrico had 112 of the cameras under its current contract, which was scheduled to renew in November.
Richmond Mayor Danny Avula said two weeks ago that he will open a listening session about the technology.
"I've been really consistent about saying that our choice to use this technology is because I believe in the benefits to public safety, and I believe those benefits outweigh the risks they pose to our community," Avula said.
"But I've also been very consistent about saying that this is not a closed issue, and that I will always remain open to hearing from the people of Richmond on it.
"I think that the shift in public sentiment around Flock, which has been particularly acute in the last couple of months, is a sign we need to reevaluate our relationship with Flock."
This has been a breaking news update. Contact Michael Phillips at mphillips@richmonder.org.
