Amid a growing national backlash to automated license plate readers (ALPRs), Fairfax County leaders want to take a closer look at their partnership with Flock Safety, the country’s leading provider of the controversial cameras.
In response to “hundreds of emails” sent by residents to their offices in recent weeks, county supervisors, led by Board Chair Jeff McKay, voted unanimously yesterday (Tuesday) to pause the installation of new Flock cameras by the Fairfax County Police Department.
While no ALPRs are currently located on the grounds of Fairfax County Public Schools, the county’s school board is also expected to vote on a motion later this month to prohibit any future installations.
The pause will be in effect until the board’s Safety and Security Committee meets to discuss the issue on Oct. 20, and does not affect the 84 licensed stationary Flock cameras currently operated by the FCPD. Since no new installations were planned for the next month, the county will not incur any contractual penalties, McKay said.
Calling the technology “a clear public safety benefit,” McKay said the FCPD’s license plate reader program has helped solve over 1,600 cases, including stolen vehicle and missing-person cases, since launching with a trial period in 2022. He and other supervisors also stressed that the department has polices in place to ensure the technology is used for “legitimate law enforcement purposes.”
However, the chairman sent Flock’s chief executive officer a list of detailed questions, asking the company to demonstrate that the camera’s “risks are known, bounded, technically controlled, independently auditable, contractually enforceable, and consistent with Virginia law and Fairfax County standards.”
The letter requests clarification on who owns and has access to Fairfax County’s data; how Flock handles potential conflicts between states with different laws, including whether the county can block immigration-related searches; and how exactly Flock’s artificial intelligence-powered searches work.
“While the Board of Supervisors and FCPD have taken action to try to ensure that this technology is used transparently and responsibly, the concerns raised by residents are clearly legitimate and understandable,” McKay said during the board meeting.
The company’s contracts with 7,000 law enforcement agencies — 40% of U.S. police departments — have come under increasing scrutiny by privacy, immigration, and civil liberties advocates alarmed by the prospect of a searchable national network of cameras. The advocacy group DeFlock Fairfax has been urging its members to contact the Board of Supervisors.
The group issued a statement to FFXnow calling Tuesday’s pause “performative,” given that new cameras “do not exist.”
“There were no plans to install new Flock cameras, nor meaningful or concrete action taken by the board,” said Mia Amado, a spokesperson for the group. “It’s a slap in the face and a clever trick to try to a pull a fast one on the overwhelming and broad majority of Fairfax residents that want the mass surveillance cameras removed and banned.”
The group wants the ALPRs banned entirely, not just a shift to another vendor.
“With the ALPRs still active, Fairfax residents and anyone who pass these cameras are still being tracked and surveilled,” Amado said. “Data can still be lawfully accessed by 160+ agencies, including ICE and DHS. Policies in place to prevent abuse or misuse have not worked.”
A spokesperson for Flock told FFXnow that “Flock supports clear safeguards for the responsible use of license plate reader technology.”
The statement goes on to say:
“In Virginia, our platform supports compliance with requirements including a 21-day retention period for LPR data, two-year retention of audit records, documented reasons for searches, and limits on sharing data outside the Commonwealth. Access is limited to authorized users, every search is logged for review, and agencies control their data and sharing settings. These safeguards help protect privacy while preserving the ability to use objective evidence to solve crime and find missing people. You can see the countless examples of how our technology has helped solve crimes here.”
The FCPD also owns 712 Axon Fleet 3 license plate reader cameras that are installed on most police cruisers, in addition to its 84 roadside Flock cameras.
According to FCPD data, the vast majority of license plate reader searches in the 30 days leading up to Sept. 4 were in connection to larceny / theft offenses (878) motor vehicle theft (856), or wanted persons (786). Some of the least common searches were in relation to non-DUI offenses involving alcohol (1), arson (3), pornography or obscene materials (4) or child abuse/neglect (6).
McKay said that the FCPD “abides by all state and county codes” when using its 84 licensed stationary Flock ALPRs, which are “subject to a 100% audit for searches entered.” The county has not identified any cases of misuse by the FCPD.
Still, he called nationally-reported incidents in which individuals or law enforcement agencies used the cameras for non-law enforcement purposes “alarming and concerning.”
In its letter to Flock, which McKay said was drafted with input from the FCPD and the county attorney, the Board of Supervisors cites several reported privacy violations, such as an incident in Kansas where a police chief used Flock 228 times to track his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend, as well as reports that new AI tools can locate individuals, not just license plates.
“While data captured by FCPD’s Flock ALPRs is stored on Fairfax County’s Department of Information Technology servers and deleted permanently after 21 days, reporting from around the country and concerns from residents necessitate a broader conversation,” McKay said. “These concerns also require assurances from Flock Safety that they cannot and do not have access to data collected from FCPD’s Flock ALPR program.”
The information the county obtains from Flock “could be helpful” for private property owners and organizations, such as homeowners’ associations, that have installed the cameras without the county’s approval, McKay noted.
A crowdsourced map by the DeFlock movement counts hundreds of ALPRs in Fairfax County and thousands across the D.C. region.
Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman suggested that the pause on the FCPD’s program could be “the beginning of the end for Flock,” but other board members said they’re seeking a “balanced” conversation about the technology, which is part of a Real Time Crime Center where the FCPD also monitors data from surveillance cameras and drones.
On Monday night (Sept. 14), officers were able to locate a woman’s stolen car, purse and dog within three minutes of arriving at her home to take the crime report, according to Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk, who chairs the county board’s public safety committee.
“I’m not saying that I’m advocating to keep Flock, but I’m making a point that if we give up Flock, what are we giving up as well on the opposite side?” Lusk said. “So, I want to be as judicious and as careful as deliberate in that review, and I know my colleagues will be the same.”
Lusk and Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said the review should include a look at whether there are any alternative vendors that could provide both the services and protections that the county is seeking.
“We’re entering into a world where the combination of digital feeds from cameras and AI opens up incredible potential for law enforcement –legitimate law enforcement — but it also opens up incredible potential for abuse,” Alcorn said. “So, we are going to need to have this conversation, and I would hope that we’re looking not just at policy, but also we can have folks talk to us about some of the technical options as well, so we can make sure whatever policy we implement is is doable.”
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said the review could also be helpful in identifying “gaps” that may need to be addressed by state lawmakers.
The county’s “pause” came on the same day that the Arlington County Board voted to discontinue the use of Flock cameras; recently, Alexandria City leaders also expressed support for ending their contract. Other Virginia localities that have paused or terminated their ALPR programs include the Town of Dumfries and Campbell and Appomattox counties.
At the state level, legislators across political parties are considering enacting a ban.
In the current absence of state-level legislation, at-large school board member Kyle McDaniel plans to make a motion at the board’s Sept. 24 meeting prohibiting the installation, procurement, or leasing of ALPRs on property owned by the school board.
“It’s kind of like the wild west out there,” McDaniel, who also serves as the board’s vice chairman, told FFXnow last week. He added that he’s confident the motion — which would have no effect on speed cameras or bus stop-arm cameras — has enough support to pass.
