Delegate May Nivar welcomes Henrico and Goochland moving away from Flock and calls for safeguards

May NivarDemocratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates for the 57th District (Henrico and Goochland)

Virginia Delegate May Nivar (D-Henrico) posted on X that she is encouraged that Henrico and Goochland decided to move away from Flock cameras after hearing residents' privacy and accountability concerns. She wrote that law enforcement needs effective tools used responsibly and with safeguards, and that the General Assembly should seek a balance of public safety, privacy, accountability and local authority next session.

“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.”

Original post

Read the original post (opens in a new tab)May Nivar original X postComplete original authored X post, October 6, 2026, displayed 4:06 PM EDT, posted as a quote of Henrico County Government's announcement
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

Original post

May Nivar original X post (opens in a new tab)Complete original authored X post, October 6, 2026, displayed 4:06 PM EDT, posted as a quote of Henrico County Government's announcement

About this source

Delegate May Nivar's X post of October 6, 2026, from her @MayforVA account, quoting Henrico County Government's post that the county police division is terminating its Flock Safety contract. Henrico's own release is at henrico.gov/news/2026/10/henrico-police-to-eliminate-flock-cameras/ (posted October 6, 2026).

Before the quotation

Her post quotes Henrico County Government's October 6, 2026 announcement that the county police division is terminating its contract with Flock Safety over privacy concerns. WWBT reported on August 28, 2026 that Goochland County Sheriff Steven Creasey announced the county was no longer using Flock cameras.

After the quotation

Her post says the General Assembly will revisit the issue next session.

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. Nivar welcomes two localities moving away from Flock, says law enforcement needs effective tools used with appropriate safeguards, and asks the General Assembly to balance privacy with local authority. She backs safeguards and local choice rather than an end to the systems, so we labeled it Mixed or conditional and placed it at Guardrails on the remedy ladder. The closest competing label is Condemned, which would fit a call to end the networks; her post asks for balance, not an end.

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More from this case

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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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Cite this record

Publisher
The Dispute Index
Title
Delegate May Nivar welcomes Henrico and Goochland moving away from Flock and calls for safeguards
First published
Last updated
Permalink
https://disputeindex.com/events/5032-virginia-delegate-may-nivar-d-henrico-posted-on

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

The Dispute Index. "Delegate May Nivar welcomes Henrico and Goochland moving away from Flock and calls for safeguards". First published: 2026-10-07. Last updated: 2026-10-07. https://disputeindex.com/events/5032-virginia-delegate-may-nivar-d-henrico-posted-on