Henrico crews take down Flock cameras after vendor missed deadline

Henrico County crews finished removing 120 automatic license plate reader cameras over the weekend.

County Manager John Vithoulkas confirmed that workers completed the removal on Saturday. The county hired Flock to install the system but ended its use of the cameras last month. Officials said they had to handle the takedown themselves because Flock did not meet its contractual obligation to remove the equipment.

The contract stated that the cameras needed to be gone within two weeks of the agreement ending. That deadline passed without the units coming down. County officials noted that the poles holding the cameras are still standing on county property. They said it remains Flock's responsibility to remove those poles.

Henrico police stopped using the technology by mid-October. In a social media post on Oct. 6, the county announced the decision. Leaders said the choice came after hearing from residents, police officers, and privacy experts. They weighed the operational benefits of the system against concerns about data access and resident privacy.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Rev. Roscoe D. Cooper III described the move as a preventative measure. He said there was no evidence that Henrico police misused the system. Cooper stated, “Rather be proactive than reactive. And we’re aware of the conversations that are occurring nationally, as well as on the state level. And we just, again, felt that this was the right time to make this decision.”

Public criticism of the technology has focused on privacy and the potential for misuse. The county now operates without the Flock cameras while the vendor addresses the remaining infrastructure.