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· Fairfax County, VA · Review

Fairfax County, Virginia supervisors take no action after police defend Flock cameras; one supervisor says he would end the contract

Fairfax County's Board of Supervisors Safety and Security Committee took no action on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, after a nearly two-hour police briefing on the county's automated license plate reader program, WTOP reported. Police presented three options, all keeping plate readers: keep the current program while evaluating other vendors and data-sharing practices, keep it while testing other vendors that can meet state law and police policy, or switch to a closed network with no data sharing outside the county and review that in a year (Supervisor Walter Alcorn's office; WTOP). Supervisor Andres Jimenez said a fourth option, no license plate readers in the county, was missing (WTOP). Alcorn said at the meeting, "If I were voting today, I would vote to end the contract for ALPR cameras with that vendor," and called for a broader regional discussion of digital policing (Alcorn's office). Police said the department runs 84 Flock cameras, that 120 privately owned Flock cameras operate in the county, that data is kept for no more than three weeks, and that every search is audited (WTOP). Supervisor Jimmy Bierman voiced concern about working with the vendor, and a deputy county executive warned that crime would rise if the program ended (WTOP). The board paused new Flock installations in September.

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