Deflock Hburg

You are being tracked

In 2023, Harrisonburg city council approved the installation of 30 automated license plate readers (ALPRs). These Flock "safety" cameras take pictures of every car that passes them. There was no public input when this decision was made.Over 65 communities, including Charlottesville and Staunton, have recognized the harms of mass surveillance and have ended their ALPR contracts. We are asking Harrisonburg to follow suit.

What's the problem?

Automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) are AI surveillance technology designed to track, collect, and store the movements of every traveler. ALPRs are a digital dragnet that capture information about millions of people who’ve committed no crimes. They pose serious threats to our safety, liberty and privacy. The city has contracted with a $7.5 billion tech startup company–Flock “Safety”--funded by Peter Thiel of Palantir and others. This private company (and others like it) aims to create a seamless system of surveillance nationwide.ALPRs radically transform the consequences of leaving home to pursue private life. They create tremendous opportunity for abuse by private companies, the police, and the government. The abuse of the data collected by ALPRs has been prevalent and well documented. ALPRs have been used to surveil people because of political views, sexual orientation, and immigration status, intimate partners, women seeking reproductive healthcare, and Black and Brown people. ALPR databases have been accessed by federal agencies to include ICE, DHS, ATF, CBP, and other out of state law enforcement and government agencies.

What can we do about it?

1) Join over 1,530 people who have already signed an online petition asking city council to remove Flock cameras from Harrisonburg.

2) Take 30 seconds to email city council members. This lets them know directly that their constituents support the removal of Flock cameras.

"But I haven't done anything wrong."

You might be thinking, "why should I care about this? I haven't committed any crimes." Neither did this woman in Colorado who was wrongly accused of theft simply because of Flock camera footage.

ALPR Mythbusters....FACT or FICTION?

In April 2026, Harrisonburg Police Department presented to city council an "Overview of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs)," following pushback from community members about the mass surveillance technology that was installed in the Friendly City without public input. Here is our response to that presentation.1. HPD Claim: Virginia law (H.B. 2724) prevents federal access to ALPR data by limiting local law enforcement in Virginia from sharing ALPR data with out of state or federal agencies.
Fiction. The federal government is not constrained by Virginia’s ALPR law. As a result, HB2724 provides no meaningful restrictions on the ability of other states, private parties, and the federal government to access Virginia ALPR data through subpoenas or search warrants (including subpoenas/warrants issued to Flock’s headquarters in Georgia).2. HPD Claim: Flock “Safety” does not contract with ICE or DHS.
Fiction. In August of 2025, it was uncovered that Flock “Safety” was running a pilot program with the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection and its law enforcement arm, Homeland Security Investigations, despite previously stating otherwise.3. HPD Claim: ALPR cameras only collect license plate text, date/time, camera location, and basic vehicle attributes (make/model/color) - all observable from public roadways. “We can’t see the driver of the vehicle or any passengers, personal information on the registered owner, or driver DMV information.”
Fiction. ALPRs are always on, data entries can be in the billions. They are capable of capturing still images and/or videos– which is converted into machine-readable text, as well as a substantial part of the vehicle which can include the make, model, color, occupants, interior, bumper stickers and other unique features, and the immediate vicinity. These images and license plate text are paired with information on the date, time, and GPS location of where the vehicle was detected. A key part of the ALPR system is the accumulation of a vast amount of data and the availability of this data for effortless retroactive searching. Such tracking and searching is categorically different from isolated public observations or even short-term tracking of vehicles.4. HPD Claim: Flock uses CJIS-aligned controls, and their ALPR cloud storage platform has never been Compromised.
Fiction. Flock ALPR data is stored in a cloud server managed by Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS has been hacked as recently as December of 2025. ALPR data is also initially saved on the physical camera itself, and can also be downloaded and saved onto individual hard drives managed by Virginia law enforcement creating additional security concerns.5. HPD Claim: ALPR data is deleted after 21 days.
Fiction. Virginia law allows law enforcement to use photos from ALPRs and store it indefinitely for any “criminal investigation where there is a reasonable suspicion that a crime was committed”—an expansive definition that includes crimes like jaywalking and littering.6. HPD Claim: Virginia law ensures appropriate use of the ALPR technology with routine audits, and criminalizes misuse of data– a Class 1 Misdemeanor.
Fiction. Virginia law allows the police to police themselves, audits are reviewed by VSP and not made public. In Virginia, internal police records about misconduct allegations are also almost always kept secret. You cannot have accountability without meaningful oversight.In addition, a newly released 2026 Virginia State Crime Commission report shows that Virginia law enforcement agencies are currently violating state laws without any accountability:13% of Virginia law enforcement agencies acknowledge they are continuously sharing ALPR data with other states
6% acknowledge sharing with the federal government
35% of those Virginia law enforcement agencies admitted taking no public awareness measures relating to their ALPR use
Only 251 of 361 agencies bothered to respond to the survey required by state legislationMore recently, a Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth Attorney declined to prosecute an RPD sergeant who unlawfully shared ALPR data with the FBI.7. HPD Claim: Data from ALPR cameras is not used for any First Amendment protected activity.
Fiction. From June to October 2025 the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) identified 19 agencies that logged dozens of searches associated with the No Kings protests to include Virginia Police.8. HPD Claim: Since their Installation, ALPR cameras helped recover or identify stolen vehicles, missing persons, violent crime suspects, and assisted in hit-and-run investigations.
Answer: Without evidence, these are cherry picked anecdotes.They are just saying “trust us, this is how they help”. Blanket statements like these lack transparency and require community members to just take the same people lobbying for these cameras at their word.9. HPD Claim: In United States v. Martin, the court rejected the "mosaic theory, and In Schmidt v. City of Norfolk, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that the City of Norfolk’s use of Flock Safety Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) does not violate Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.
Fiction. SCOTUS has not ruled on the mosaic theory of the Fourth Amendment and Schmidt is currently on appeal to the Fourth Circuit.

join us

We are a grassroots group of residents concerned about mass surveillance in Harrisonburg.This summer, we will be door knocking in neighborhoods and raising awareness at intersections in town with Flock cameras. If you'd like to get involved in these and other activities, join our Signal channel and follow us on social media.