All Flock cameras on public property in Arlington have been removed, but that doesn’t mean the technology is gone entirely, county staff say.
All county-leased Flock Safety technology had been removed as of last week, in compliance with a County Board vote last month, county spokesperson Ryan Hudson told ARLnow. This included 41 cameras in total: 26 Falcon license plate readers and 15 Condor pan-tilt-zoom cameras.
The decision, which came amid nationwide backlash against the technology and concerns about potential misuse by federal agents, does not affect cameras installed on private property, however. It’s unclear how many of these exist, but according to county staff, some are present in Arlington.
“[It is] important to note that this action applies only to county-leased Flock equipment on public property,” Aaron Miller, deputy county manager for public safety, said in a presentation last month. “There are, out in the community, privately owned cameras — both Flock and other license plate reader cameras that we know of.”
The County Board voted unanimously on Sept. 15 to uninstall the county’s cameras and direct Flock to delete all data not required for active criminal investigations. The decision prompted pushback from Police Chief Andy Penn as well as Miller, who said that removing the equipment takes away a tool that police have been using appropriately to help catch suspects.
“It allows us to move rapidly [to] respond to legitimate public-safety concerns,” Penn told Board members. “It has been instrumental in solving a host of different crimes here in Arlington.”
Flock cameras capture more information than the county’s older plate readers, which police have used since at least 2008 and the Commissioner of Revenue has used since at least 2012. Recorded data included vehicle make, model, bumper stickers and damage.
The cameras were not used for traffic enforcement and the data was deleted after 30 days unless it related to a criminal investigation. Board members underscored that the decision was not about any misuse of the cameras by local police, but about outside agencies, particularly those at the federal level.
“We find ourselves in this position not because Arlington did anything wrong,” County Board member J.D. Spain Sr. said last month. “We start from a national level, and it has found its way into every locality, just about, across America, and now we have to grapple with it.”
Some advocates, including the organization DeFlock NoVa, have sought to go even further, calling for a county ordinance banning all automated license plate readers over privacy concerns.
County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti provided the following statement to WUSA9:
The Arlington County Board is aware of the petition to ban all use of Automated License Plate Reader technology within the County, and the ongoing concerns residents have shared. We understand and share many of those concerns, which is why we decided to not renew the County’s contract with Flock.
The Board takes seriously the safety and privacy of its residents and will keep both fully in mind as we review and discuss this petition. We welcome the community’s continued feedback.
Organizers plan to press county leaders on the topic at a town hall on Oct. 26.
