Virginia County: Henrico removes 120 Flock cameras after contract dispute

Residents of Henrico County, Virginia, no longer see Flock cameras on their street poles. Local crews removed more than 120 units on Saturday, ending the county's use of the automatic license plate reader technology.

The removal came after a contractual dispute. Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas stated that his staff had to take down the equipment themselves. This action followed Flock's failure to fulfill its obligation to remove the devices. The county contract ended in October. Under the terms, the cameras were scheduled to be removed within two weeks of that deadline. That timeline was not met, leaving the hardware in place until this weekend.

The county board voted to cut ties with the vendor by mid-October. The decision followed conversations with other leaders, police, and privacy experts. While officials noted no evidence that Henrico police misused the system, they described the move as preventative. They cited ongoing public criticism regarding data access and privacy risks associated with the technology.

Rev. Roscoe D. Cooper III, chairman of the Henrico Board of Supervisors, explained the timing of the decision. He noted that the board was aware of national and state-level conversations about the technology. He said, “Rather be proactive than reactive.. we just, again, felt that this was the right time to make this decision.”

The poles holding the cameras remain in place. Flock is responsible for removing those poles. The county has fully ended its use of the system, concluding a relationship that began with privacy concerns and ended with a vendor performance issue.