After months of public outcry over privacy concerns, Alexandria will shut down its 61 license plate readers and other cameras along public roadways this week.
On Tuesday night, Alexandria City Manager Jim Parajon and Police Chief Tarrick McGuire briefed City Council that the department will deactivate all Flock cameras in the city within 48 hours and fully remove them by December.
Parajon said that any new surveillance technology must be approved by City Council.
“The Flock cameras will be turned off,” Parajon told City Council. “The staff will be coming back to the City Council on the Nov. 10 legislative meeting with some potential resolution for you to consider that really talks about guiding principles governing the evaluation of any potential new surveillance technology.”
McGuire told City Council that the department needs to close out the system to ensure evidentiary value.
APD started its contract with Flock in 2023. Last year, the Alexandria Police Department made nearly 21,000 automated license plate reader queries between August 2025 and August 2026, directly leading to 72 felony charges and 65 misdemeanor charges. That represents about 5% out of the total 2,694 criminal arrests made during that period.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins thanked the community for sending emails and participating in community engagement meetings with the Alexandria Police Department.
“I think what was very clear is that we heard from you that Flock as a vendor needed to be out, and that any process moving forward needed to have a clear path for involving the public as well as involving the City Council,” Gaskins said.
City Councilwoman Sandy Marks asked whether the cameras could be bagged up before their deactivation.
“If that’s what Council wants, we can certainly work towards trying to do that and bring it back to you if there’s a reason we can’t,” Parajon said.
The City Council action does not include red light cameras, speed cameras and the type of technology that tickets upon an infraction.
Councilman Abdel Elnoubi said the city should not be normalizing surveillance for law-abiding citizens.
“I’m glad we’re here because we need a reset moment,” Elnoubi said. “We do not want to be deploying a technology that’s collecting data today, and that data can be used to go after our residents tomorrow.”
In Virginia, Flock data can only be shared between local and state law enforcement agencies, raising concerns that Alexandria’s data could be shared via another jurisdiction. As privacy concerns mount, Alexandria’s neighbors are moving away from using the technology. The Arlington County Board recently voted to discontinue use of Flock cameras and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted to suspend installation of Flock cameras. The Fairfax County School Board also banned Flock-style ALPRs from school grounds.
DeFlock Alexandria released a statement that removing Flock is an important first step.
“ALL ALPR (automated license plate reader) technologies pose monumental concerns that directly impact Alexandrians’ privacy and safety,” the group told ALXnow in a statement. “Mass surveillance has no place in this city. We continue to demand a ban on any new city ALPR implementation, effective immediately.”
