Henrico County crews pull 120 Flock cameras after company misses deadline

Crews in Henrico County, Virginia, removed more than 120 Flock cameras on Saturday. The county acted after the private vendor failed to take down the hardware on its own. County Manager John Vithoulkas confirmed that local workers performed the physical removal.

Henrico County ended its use of Flock's automatic license plate reader technology last month. The decision came after discussions with residents, police officers, and privacy experts. The county stated that the cameras were supposed to be gone within two weeks of the contract ending. That timeline did not hold.

Officials noted that the poles holding the cameras remain in the ground. They said it is still Flock's responsibility to remove those poles. The county cut ties with the system by mid-October. A social media post from Oct. 6 marked the official announcement of the change.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Rev. Roscoe D. Cooper III explained the timing of the decision. "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," Cooper said.

Leaders described the move as a preventative measure. They stated there was no evidence that Henrico police misused the system. The technology had drawn public criticism over privacy issues and potential data access concerns. The county is now fully without the Flock cameras.