Cooper backs ending Henrico County's Flock contract over possible misuse of data by others

Roscoe D. Cooper IIIChair of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors, Virginia

Henrico County Board of Supervisors Chair Roscoe D. Cooper III said in a county release that residents have raised concerns about Flock Safety and whether the data it collects is sufficiently safeguarded. He said the county is confident Henrico Police used the data appropriately but cannot ignore the potential for misuse of system data by others, and that ending the contract is the right thing to do.

“While we are confident that Henrico Police has used ALPR data appropriately for legitimate law-enforcement purposes only, we cannot ignore the potential for misuse of system data by others. Ending this contract is the right thing to do for our residents and community.”

Official statement

Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)Henrico Police to eliminate Flock camerasNews release, second paragraph (Cooper quotation)
A close view of a green Flock Safety automated license-plate reader mounted beside a street.
Credit: Bruxton

Where this statement fits

Should Flock-style license-plate surveillance networks exist?

Networked automated license-plate readers record passing vehicles and let agencies search or share travel records across locations. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to prohibit these networks, keep them with legal limits, or defend their use for investigations. This tracker records attributable positions on that choice, including proposals that would affect only public funding or data access.

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Source and context

Official statement

Henrico Police to eliminate Flock cameras (opens in a new tab)News release, second paragraph (Cooper quotation)

About this source

Henrico County news release announcing that the county police division is terminating its contract with Flock Safety over privacy concerns. It quotes Board of Supervisors Chair Roscoe D. Cooper III and says police intend to cut ties with Flock within seven days.

Before the quotation

The Henrico County release says the county police division is terminating its contract with Flock Safety because of privacy concerns about the company's license plate reader camera system.

After the quotation

The release says Police intends, in consultation with the Board of Supervisors and other county officials, to cut ties with Flock Safety within seven days, and that officials will also review other options that continue the division's operational effectiveness.

How this statement is classified

Mixed or conditional

The label describes this statement's response within the context above.

Why this label?

The reference point is whether networked license-plate reader systems such as Flock should exist and be used. Cooper backs ending Henrico's contract with Flock because of privacy concerns and the potential for misuse of system data by others, while saying the county is confident Henrico Police used the data appropriately for legitimate law-enforcement purposes. The release says officials will review other options for keeping the division effective, and no replacement license-plate system is chosen. He rejects this vendor's contract without rejecting license-plate readers as a whole, which fits Mixed or conditional, placed at Ban on the remedy ladder. The closest competing label is Condemned, which would fit if he had called license-plate readers themselves a harm; his stated concern is whether Flock's data is safeguarded.

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Nanette Barragán says the lack of federal limits on plate-reader data "is not acceptable"

Nanette Barragán

“Right now, there are few meaningful federal limits on how this kind of data is collected, stored, or shared. There is also a failure to hold companies accountable or put strict rules in place on the use and collection of data. That is not acceptable. When there are no real limits on who can access this data, it becomes easier for agencies like ICE to use it against immigrant families and working communities, the very people our public safety systems should be protecting, not putting at risk. This is about more than privacy. It is about whether people can go to work, visit a doctor, or move through their communities without being tracked and having that information used against them. We can have public safety and privacy. What we cannot have is a surveillance state that tracks people without accountability, and I will keep pushing in Congress to close that gap.”
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Delegate May Nivar welcomes Henrico and Goochland moving away from Flock and calls for safeguards

May Nivar

“I’m encouraged that Henrico and Goochland have each decided to move away from Flock cameras after hearing residents’ concerns about privacy and accountability. Public safety and privacy are not competing values. Law enforcement needs effective tools, but those tools must be used responsibly and with appropriate safeguards. ... As the General Assembly revisits this issue next session, we must work toward the right balance between public safety, privacy, accountability, and the authority of local communities to make decisions that reflect their residents’ values.”
Read statement

Cite this record

Publisher
The Dispute Index
Title
Cooper backs ending Henrico County's Flock contract over possible misuse of data by others
First published
Last updated
Permalink
https://disputeindex.com/events/5009-henrico-county-board-of-supervisors-chair-roscoe-d

Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.

The Dispute Index. "Cooper backs ending Henrico County's Flock contract over possible misuse of data by others". First published: 2026-10-07. Last updated: 2026-10-07. https://disputeindex.com/events/5009-henrico-county-board-of-supervisors-chair-roscoe-d