State Loses One Of Its Largest Flock Networks After County Terminates Contract For 122 Cameras

The Henrico County Police Division is terminating its contract with Flock Safety due to privacy concerns about the company’s system of automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras.https://t.co/nVCXjnmPPc pic.twitter.com/xXUsx95gJ3

— Henrico County Government (@HenricoNews) October 6, 2026

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Henrico has utilized Flock since 2022, and renewed its contract in July.

The county said talks about this decision have been ongoing, following significant input from the community. It is still confident Flock data was only being used for “legitimate, law enforcement purposes.”

Cooper told 8News that it will not impact the police’s ability to prevent and solve crime.

“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,” said County Manager John Vithoulkas.

There is no cost to the county to remove these cameras. All data stored as evidence will be deleted within 30 days.

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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… pic.twitter.com/qBD15DDPtb

— Daily Signal (@DailySignal) October 11, 2026

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Henrico becomes the latest Virginia municipality to cancel its contract with Flock. The Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO previously reported how local advocates have organized campaigns and testified at public hearings to voice concerns about the surveillance network.

On Sept. 15, Arlington County voted to discontinue its use of Flock. The county board ordered the removal of 41 cameras from public property within 14 days, citing recent resident pushback and the need to maintain public trust.

Fairfax County supervisors also voted to pause new Flock installations pending an Oct. 20 privacy and data security review. The county’s school board took pre-emptive action, even though Fairfax Public Schools do not use the cameras. On Sept. 24, the board unanimously voted to prohibit the installation of ALPR systems on school property. Board member Kyle McDaniel called it a proactive step, saying schools are educational institutions, not law enforcement agencies.

Fairfax Republicans criticized the county pause as more symbolic than substantive, arguing that existing Flock and cruiser-mounted plate readers remain active and that the debate should focus on warrants, audit transparency and access.

Henrico’s Flock network is the sixth largest in Virginia. While Emporia has the most cameras (444) for any single municipality, the most prolific installations of the surveillance cameras in the state are found in Hampton Roads. Suffolk has 267 cameras, followed by Portsmouth (255), Norfolk (175), and Newport News (153), according to the transparency portals set up by Flock Safety for each of its clients. The powerful, AI-assisted network captures detailed images of vehicles and coordinates of where they are spotted, as well as other physical details like license plates, vehicle colors, roof racks and stickers. The system shares these details with other local, state and even federal law enforcement agencies. Nationwide sharing is prohibited by Virginia ALPR law.

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