Petition addressed to:
Mayor Kenneth Alexander and Norfolk City Council
Flock camera use continues to be hotly debated all around the United States, and Hampton Roads is not immune. Since opinions run strong on both sides of this issue, our ask is simple: put it to a vote.
We are insisting that Norfolk City Council put the use of Flock Safety Inc surveillance cameras and their associated dashboard to a referendum and allow the residents of Norfolk, Virginia to vote on the matter.
Reason
Flock Safety Inc. is a highly controversial corporation whose tools have rapidly built a web of mass surveillance used by over 4,000 cities and towns across the United States.
For Norfolk specifically, here are the facts:
1) Norfolk PD received a grant to purchase this surveillance equipment. None of our elected officials truly researched or reviewed the full capabilities of these cameras and related dashboard before their implementation.
2) Flock Safety, Inc.’s cameras feed into the most robust data compilation dashboard in history, and the cameras are not just “automated license plate readers” [ALPR]. Bumper stickers- religious, LGBT, and political ones- are all logged, as well as make, model, color, and damage on the vehicle. Facial recognition technology and microphones are already in place in these cameras, and cameras have been placed on playgrounds, hiking trails, and recreational areas where no license plates are present but minors and women are.
3) Dozens of privacy violations have already occurred with this software across the US as law enforcement officers have used the cameras to stalk and track romantic partners or even strangers, and Flock staff have themselves been caught tapping into camera feeds in recreational areas with women and children. (https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/flock-safety-employees-watched-kids-151737512.html)
4) Norfolk’s homicide rate is up sixty-four percent (64%) in the first half of 2026 despite the presence of these cameras. (https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/norfolk/new-report-says-that-norfolks-number-of-homicides-has-increased-since-2019/)
5) Dozens of interstate, federal, and corporate alliances ensure basically any willing customer can access or purchase your data. That could be a corporation or a federal agency seeking to bypass the constitutional need for a warrant, including- as has happened in Norfolk- DHS and ICE.
There are other vendors who sell cameras without this level of data capture and sharing.
6) The cameras were purchased with a grant, but each camera requires a $2,500 annual subscription. Annual operating costs run at $430,000 with no assurances of future grant awards, leaving this financial burden to fall on our municipal budget. When the grant ends, we pay. (https://www.govtech.com/public-safety/norfolk-va-deploys-172-license-plate-readers)
Deflock Nva