Here's Where 8 New Flock Cameras Will Go Live In Prince William In September: Report

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA – Eight new Flock cameras are planned to go live in Prince William County in September, joining the existing 28 surveillance devices already active, according to a new report.

According to Fox 5 News, the cameras will be installed in Dumfries. Five have already been set up, with three more joining the network before it begins operations next month.

The fixed cameras automatically read and photographs licenses plates and add the images to searchable databases shared with a variety of agencies.

Cameras are already active in Woodbridge, Dale City, Occoquan and elsewhere in the county, according to the open-source DeFlock project.

Fox reports that Dumfries Town Manager Tangela Innis said the town’s location off I-95 means it is well positioned to help other jurisdictions with license plate data.

Vice Mayor of Dumfries Monae Nickerson said the Flock camera program will be reported on quarterly, so residents can remain informed about how they’re being used.

Potomac Local News reported that the program was approved in June and that all the cameras were to be placed on private property with the owners’ permission.

Cameras Spark Privacy Concerns

The American Civil Liberties Union says Flock cameras frequently misread license plates and that less than 1% of cars scanned are involved in a crime. The ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Cato Institute and the Electronic Privacy Foundation have all joined a case challenging the legality of Flock camera data capture, saying the warrantless collection of data about cars’ movements violates the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure.

Flock Across Northern Virginia

Hundreds of Flock cameras are deployed across Northern Virginia. Residents can search Have I Been Flocked by state and police jurisdiction to review Flock audit logs obtained through public records requests. Some records can include how often users may see how often an agency searched the system, the reasons officers gave and whether a particular license plate appeared in the logs.

Different jurisdictions require different information to be reported. The City of Alexandria has just updated what information its Flock system reports to the public.

Read more from Fox 5 here.