NBC Washington reported that Alexandria will stop using Flock cameras by Friday, according to city officials who spoke at a council meeting Tuesday. Police Chief Tarrick McGuire said he sent Flock notice earlier that week that the city would discontinue the service.
When will Alexandria's Flock cameras be turned off?
- McGuire said he anticipates the automatic license plate reader cameras should be deactivated by Friday.
- City Manager James Parajon said the data will be turned off within 48 hours, a statement he made at the meeting.
- McGuire's goal is to have all cameras in Alexandria removed by the end of December.
Parajon said the Flock contract is canceled. The announcement was met with applause during the meeting.
What changes for drivers in Alexandria?
Alexandria's decision covers the city's Flock program. Once the city deactivates those cameras, they should stop operating in Alexandria, and removal is the stated goal for the end of December.
Cameras run by a neighboring city, the county, the state, a business or an HOA are not part of this decision. Arlington and Dumfries removed their Flock cameras in September, and Fairfax County paused expanding its existing program late last month pending a review.
What does not change: the reporting doesn't say whether other plate reader systems operating in Alexandria will be affected. It also doesn't say whether any state law would apply. Virginia state Sen. Lashrecse Aird said in September that she had filed an initial draft of a bill to ban automated license plate readers statewide. That draft is not law.
What happens next?
Parajon said city officials will discuss potential guidance and protocols going forward, should there be future surveillance technology, at the council's Nov. 10 meeting. The cameras are supposed to be deactivated by Friday, and the city's goal is removal by the end of December.
To see where plate readers are mapped near you, check the camera map. For background on how these systems work and what they record, read how plate readers work. Published transparency records for local agencies are on the agencies page.