Why Richmond Residents Are Pushing Back on ‘Flock’ Cameras
Why Richmond Residents Are Pushing Back on ‘Flock’ Cameras
Publish Date: 2026-02-27 06:05:00
Source Domain: www.12onyourside.com
RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – Driving around Richmond, it doesn’t take long to find an automated license plate reader or “Flock” camera.
According to the Richmond Police Department, there are 99 of these cameras up around the city, including in neighborhoods, business areas, and on busy roads.
They are marketed as only capturing a vehicle’s license plate and other defining features, such as its make, model, and color.
The police department promises it only stores this data for 21 days and will not share it outside of the state or with federal agencies.
12 On Your Side Legal analyst Steve Benjamin said there are some work arounds with the rules, even including what the camera captures.
“Ideally they would only capture the vehicle and license plate number. But it’s a camera — so it captures whatever is in its field of vision,” Benjamin said.
Benjamin said Virginia law balances protecting individual privacy with public safety. While there are restrictions in place with the data and what can be shared, there are also exceptions.
“Images that are acquired by these cameras, so long as they are part of an ongoing criminal investigation, can be used with no restrictions, can be shared with no restrictions,” Benjamin said.
Over the past week, there’s been a surge in community pushback over the cameras.
Dozens of people showed up to Richmond City Council Monday night, demanding the city not renew its contract with Flock Safety.
“It’s a private, mass surveillance infrastructure that is backed by venture capital and designed to monitor the movements of ordinary people through AI-enabled people, and these cameras have already been used repeatedly to target protected political communities and marginalized communities,” said Victoria McCullough, a Richmond resident.
In July, federal agencies used Richmond’s Flock cameras to assist in immigration-related cases. Chief Edwards later said he wasn’t aware that they were doing that and that it would not happen again.
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