Deflock Hburg
You are being tracked
In 2023, Harrisonburg city council approved the installation of 30 automated license plate readers (ALPRs). These Flock "safety" cameras take pictures of every car that passes them. There was no public input when this decision was made.Over 65 communities, including Charlottesville and Staunton, have recognized the harms of mass surveillance and have ended their ALPR contracts. We are asking Harrisonburg to follow suit.
Sign a petition
Join over 1,525 people who have already signed an online petition asking city council to remove Flock cameras from Harrisonburg.
Send an email to council
Take 30 seconds to email city council and let them know you support the removal of Flock cameras in Harrisonburg.
Why should you care?
You might be thinking, "why should I care about this? I haven't committed any crimes." Check out this video about a woman in Colorado who was accused of theft simply because of Flock camera footage.
ALPR Mythbusters....FACT or FICTION?
I think I can make this into a slide deck that will be more visually appealing way to insert this info (if we think it's a good idea to post to website?)In April 2026, Harrisonburg Police Department presented to city council an "Overview of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs)," following pushback from community members about the mass surveillance technology that was installed in the Friendly City without public input. Here is our response to that presentation.1. HPD Claim: Virginia law (H.B. 2724) prevents federal access to ALPR data by limiting local law enforcement in Virginia from sharing ALPR data with out of state or federal agencies.
Fiction. The federal government is not constrained by Virginia’s ALPR law. As a result, HB2724 provides no meaningful restrictions on the ability of other states, private parties, and the federal government to access Virginia ALPR data through subpoenas or search warrants (including subpoenas/warrants issued to Flock’s headquarters in Georgia).2. HPD Claim: Flock “Safety” does not contract with ICE or DHS.
Fiction. In August of 2025, it was uncovered that Flock “Safety” was running a pilot program with the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection and its law enforcement arm, Homeland Security Investigations, despite previously stating otherwise.3. HPD Claim: ALPR cameras only collect license plate text, date/time, camera location, and basic vehicle attributes (make/model/color) - all observable from public roadways. “We can’t see the driver of the vehicle or any passengers, personal information on the registered owner, or driver DMV information.”
Fiction. ALPRs are always on, data entries can be in the billions. They are capable of capturing still images and/or videos– which is converted into machine-readable text, as well as a substantial part of the vehicle which can include the make, model, color, occupants, interior, bumper stickers and other unique features, and the immediate vicinity. These images and license plate text are paired with information on the date, time, and GPS location of where the vehicle was detected. A key part of the ALPR system is the accumulation of a vast amount of data and the availability of this data for effortless retroactive searching. Such tracking and searching is categorically different from isolated public observations or even short-term tracking of vehicles.4. HPD Claim: Flock uses CJIS-aligned controls, and their ALPR cloud storage platform has never been Compromised.
Fiction. Flock ALPR data is stored in a cloud server managed by Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS has been hacked as recently as December of 2025. ALPR data is also initially saved on the physical camera itself, and can also be downloaded and saved onto individual hard drives managed by Virginia law enforcement creating additional security concerns.5. HPD Claim: ALPR data is deleted after 21 days.
Fiction. Virginia law allows law enforcement to use photos from ALPRs and store it indefinitely for any “criminal investigation where there is a reasonable suspicion that a crime was committed”—an expansive definition that includes crimes like jaywalking and littering.6. HPD Claim: Virginia law ensures appropriate use of the ALPR technology with routine audits, and criminalizes misuse of data– a Class 1 Misdemeanor.
Fiction. Virginia law allows the police to police themselves, audits are reviewed by VSP and not made public. In Virginia, internal police records about misconduct allegations are also almost always kept secret. You cannot have accountability without meaningful oversight.In addition, a newly released 2026 Virginia State Crime Commission report shows that Virginia law enforcement agencies are currently violating state laws without any accountability:13% of Virginia law enforcement agencies acknowledge they are continuously sharing ALPR data with other states
6% acknowledge sharing with the federal government
35% of those Virginia law enforcement agencies admitted taking no public awareness measures relating to their ALPR use
Only 251 of 361 agencies bothered to respond to the survey required by state legislationMore recently, a Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth Attorney declined to prosecute an RPD sergeant who unlawfully shared ALPR data with the FBI.7. HPD Claim: Data from ALPR cameras is not used for any First Amendment protected activity.
Fiction. From June to October 2025 the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) identified 19 agencies that logged dozens of searches associated with the No Kings protests to include Virginia Police.8. HPD Claim: Since their Installation, ALPR cameras helped recover or identify stolen vehicles, missing persons, violent crime suspects, and assisted in hit-and-run investigations.
Answer: Without evidence, these are cherry picked anecdotes.They are just saying “trust us, this is how they help”. Blanket statements like these lack transparency and require community members to just take the same people lobbying for these cameras at their word.9. HPD Claim: In United States v. Martin, the court rejected the "mosaic theory, and In Schmidt v. City of Norfolk, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that the City of Norfolk’s use of Flock Safety Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) does not violate Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.
Fiction. SCOTUS has not ruled on the mosaic theory of the Fourth Amendment and Schmidt is currently on appeal to the Fourth Circuit.
This is a bipartisan issue
People across the political spectrum agree that mass surveillance is a problem.Delegate Sam Rasoul's op-ed in Cardinal News: https://cardinalnews.org/2026/05/13/rasoul-mass-surveillance-is-bad-for-roanoke/(insert prominent op-ed from a Republican)
