De-Flock Fairfax

Unchecked Spying Erodes Your Privacy, Immigrants' Rights, and the Rule of Law

Fairfax County uses automated license plate readers, including Flock. After widespread reports of Flock's privacy invasions and cooperation with ICE, Virginia regulated it. The regulations weren't followed. It's time to de-Flock.

What's Going On?

In 2023, the Fairfax County Police Department began using Flock Safety License Plate Readers. Unlike normal traffic cameras, automated license plate readers (ALPRs) continually monitor all traffic to create an easily searchable history of any vehicle’s movements without a warrant. Flock gained national attention for its collection of over 80,000 cameras being used to:

Assist ICE’s immigration crackdown.
Surveil activists at No Kings protests.
Tell an innocent citizen, “You can’t get a breath of fresh air…without us knowing.”

When FCPD started using ALPRs, it claimed it had “chosen not to get alerts for violations regarding immigration status” and did “not share information to federal authorities regarding their investigations into immigration enforcement.”

However, audits show that Flock cameras were used to conduct many immigration-related cases in Fairfax county. Of all immigration-related searches in Virginia, over half of them took place in Fairfax county. Capt. Jesse Katzman said FCPD officers did not conduct these searches but this could have happened because “We share our license plate reader system with 13 other agencies.”

In response to these concerns, Virginia passed a law in 2025 regulating ALPR usage. In 2026, the Crime Commission released police departments’ self-reported Flock usage:

30% of departments did not respond to the survey.
19% shared ALPR data with out-of-state and/or federal agencies, in violation of the law.
21% kept data longer than 21 days, in violation of the law.
35% didn’t promote public awareness ALPR usage, in violation of the law.
16% didn’t have an ALPR policy, in violation of the law.
The report did not say which departments broke the law.

Flock admitted to lying about sending data to immigration enforcement. Regulating Flock has failed, and its lawful usage relies on broken promises from the company itself.

Other Virginia police departments have terminated their Flock contracts. It’s time for Fairfax County to follow suit. It’s time to de-Flock.

Flock Doesn't Make Us Safer

Flock claims its cameras have solved 10% of reported crimes in the US. This comes from a study predominantly written by Flock employees, which has faced backlash by academics.

Some people say there is “no expectation of privacy in public.” This is true if someone snaps a photo of you in public. However, the Supreme Court explicitly stated “A person does not surrender all Fourth Amendment protection by venturing into the public sphere.” Large-scale automated vehicle tracking has been ruled unconstitutional in United States v. Jones.

ALPRs have created many false alerts that resulted in innocent people, including children and families, held at gunpoint. Officers have used Flock data to stalk their romantic partners.

Police departments collect Flock data without warrants. Officers are explicitly told to “be as vague as permissible” for why they are using Flock. Flock data tracks a vehicle’s entire history in a single search. This is unambiguous surveillance which can and has been easily abused. The best way to avoid abuse is to prevent systems which provide the opportunity for such abuse.

Where Are Flock Cameras in Fairfax County?

This crowd-sourced map shows Flock cameras all over America. Created by deflock.org.

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