Henrico County Taps Own Crews to Pull 120 Cameras After Flock Missed Deadline
The county took down the automatic license plate readers itself after the vendor failed to meet its removal contract.
By Enzo Conti ·
Henrico County workers spent Saturday dismantling 120 automatic license plate reader cameras after the vendor, Flock, missed its removal deadline. County Manager John Vithoulkas confirmed that crews removed the units because Flock failed to fulfill its contractual obligation to do so.
The county ended its use of the cameras last month amid privacy concerns. Officials stated the devices were supposed to be gone within two weeks of the contract ending. That timeline did not hold, so the county took action to remove the hardware itself.
Police stopped using the system by mid-October. A social media post dated Oct. 6 noted that leaders cut ties with the technology after consulting with other officials. The decision followed feedback from residents, police, and experts regarding data access and privacy.
Leaders framed the move as preventative. They said there was no evidence that Henrico police misused the system. Rev. Roscoe D. Cooper III, chairman of the Henrico Board of Supervisors, cited national and state conversations as a reason for acting now. 'Rather be proactive than reactive,' Cooper said. 'We just, again, felt that this was the right time to make this decision.'
The poles that held the cameras remain in place. Officials said it is Flock's responsibility to remove those structures. The technology has faced public criticism over potential misuse, prompting the county to end its reliance on the system.
Source: KAUU
