Flock Camera Map Will Be Published By This Date, Alexandria Police Say

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Alexandria police will publish a map of all their Flock cameras by Oct. 1, the department announced on its license plate reader dashboard.

The question had been raised by Alexandria's City Council in a Sept. 8 meeting. Written answers to the council's questions were first published earlier this month on its dedicated dashboard. Now, a new date for a Flock camera map has been added.

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City council members had raised a number of issues about how the data acquired by the cameras was stored, accessed and used, as well as questions about where the cameras were placed and how the Alexandria Police Department determined where they should be put.

How APD Says Camera Locations Were Chosen

In response to questions about how the camera locations were determined, APD said their placement is intended "to provide broad geographic coverage without concentrating cameras in any one area."

"ALPR cameras are generally located along major public thoroughfares and key ingress and egress points, where traffic volume and regional travel patterns provide the greatest public-safety and investigative value," APD wrote. "Placement is also coordinated to complement regional law enforcement partners and avoid unnecessary duplication, recognizing that criminal activity often crosses jurisdictional boundaries." The department also noted that urban design, traffic, technical limitations and permitting processes can limit camera placement.

APD also said the cameras were first deployed in 2023 in response to an increase in stolen cars and associated criminal activity. "Camera placement was based on crime patterns, transportation networks, connections to surrounding jurisdictions, and other public-safety and investigative needs," the department wrote. APD says the Office of Race and Social Equity and the Independent Policing Auditor were engaged in the process and the department sought community feedback, reviewed crime and traffic data, and considered race and social equity in deploying the technology.

Where Volunteers Have Located Cameras

The Zebra earlier this month reported on a volunteer-produced map of cameras in the city that lists 75 license plate readers inside the city, 73 of them Flock cameras. APD says it operates 61 cameras in the city. It is possible cameras operated by other entities are deployed in Alexandria.

The cameras have become the subject of heated debate in Northern Virginia and beyond in recent months. Alexandria citizens and some city council members have called for their removal, and locations like Arlington County and others have decided to end use of the technology.

See more: APD Blocks State Agencies Working With ICE From Using City's Flock Cameras: Report

See more: Fairfax County Pauses New Flock Cameras As Supervisors Question Privacy Safeguards