(Daily Signal)—All 122 Flock surveillance cameras operating in Henrico County will be shut down by the middle of October, making the county the latest jurisdiction in Virginia to cut ties with the license plate reading company.
“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,” the leaders of the county’s board of supervisors said 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.”
Henrico had signed a contract extension earlier this year that would have run into November of 2027 but decided to pull the plug within seven days instead. All information collected by the cameras is scheduled to be deleted within 30 days. County Manager John Vithoulkas told WRIC, “It was a balance between public safety and the fact that people feel like their rights are being infringed upon as they drive through these cameras.”
In neighboring Goochland County, the cameras went dark in August.
“I have decided to suspend the Goochland County Sheriff’s Office’s use of Flock ALPR cameras. This decision is not the result of any identified misuse of the system,” Sheriff Steven Creasey wrote. “ALPR technology is a valuable investigative tool that helps law enforcement locate stolen vehicles, missing or endangered persons, wanted individuals, and vehicles connected to criminal activity.”
Creasey added that he recognizes that citizens are concerned about privacy issues.
Deflock.org allows readers to zoom in on a map of Virginia and see where the cameras are still operating.
The town of Damascus has only three Flock cameras, but it will soon have zero. The town council voted 6-0 this week to end its contract with the company. Ahead of the vote, the city’s police chief said getting rid of the cameras would be a mistake. “This is one of the single greatest tools that we can have,” Kermit Turner told Cardinal News. “Anything can be abused. I feel very comfortable with my guys not abusing the system, because they know that if there is any kind of violation of our policy, because it’s scrutinized, they will be terminated. No questions asked.”
Statewide, more than 20 cities and counties have suspended the use of cameras or ended their relationship with Flock altogether. That includes Montgomery, Amherst, Bedford, Bland, Floyd, Giles, Halifax and Henry counties, as well as numerous cities. The city of Richmond, which has 99 fixed cameras, has not taken action to turn them off.
Flock cameras are in fixed locations and capture images of license plates as cars pass by. They do not capture identification about the driver or the car’s passengers. Law enforcement officials call the cameras an important crime fighting tool.
“I’m a progressive prosecutor, always have been, and I am telling you, this is a civil rights tool as much as public safety,” Norfolk commonwealth’s attorney Ramin Fatehi told WAVY last month. “If people don’t want to be stopped by the police and messed up with when they have not done anything wrong, they want Flock.”
A state law that took effect in 2025 required officials to delete all camera-captured data after 21 days. However, citizens have raised concerns about surveillance and data collection. Republican state Sen. Glen Sturtevant said he will introduce a bill in January that would eliminate cameras throughout the commonwealth.
“It’s high time that we get these things out of Virginia altogether,” he told WRC-TV. “I don’t want a better regulated surveillance network. I don’t want a surveillance network period.”
