Work crews in Henrico County, Virginia, have removed more than 120 cameras and solar panels made by Flock after the county ended its contract with the surveillance technology company over privacy concerns. Officials said Flock had not fulfilled its contractual obligation to remove the equipment.
An image obtained by 12 On Your Side showed the collected cameras and solar panels. The poles used to mount the cameras reportedly remain in place because crews said Flock was responsible for removing them.
The move comes amid growing concern about Flock’s automated license plate recognition systems and declining public trust in the technology. A growing number of police departments and municipalities have canceled their contracts with the company.
Plymouth, Massachusetts, also discontinued its use of Flock cameras. The decision followed a case involving motoring journalist Joel Feder, whose test vehicle was flagged as stolen after the system apparently matched its license plate with a similar registration. Police later located and questioned him. A similar false match involving another Jaguar Land Rover media vehicle in Nebraska led to another journalist being questioned.
Plymouth Police Chief Eric Fadden said the city council voted to end the Flock contract in September. He told The Drive that the department received no response from Flock’s corporate or legal teams beyond communication with a local representative. Fadden therefore instructed staff to disconnect the cameras’ power cords.
The cameras remain Flock’s property, and both Henrico County and Plymouth are waiting for the company to say when it will collect them.
Flock’s technology has faced further criticism over alleged police misuse, unauthorized access to large numbers of images and broader privacy concerns. The company also abandoned plans for a feature designed to process ambient audio for sounds such as screams, gunshots and car crashes after consumer rights groups suggested it could amount to mass surveillance.
Despite the controversy, Flock CEO Garrett Langley said at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 that society should not “pause progress” because of privacy concerns. Meanwhile, some individuals have disabled cameras themselves, and software companies have begun mapping their locations to help drivers identify them.
Sources: TechRadar.