The Martinsville Police Department will not renew its contract with Flock upon its expiration on Dec. 31 because, although the cameras were effective, “trust matters,” according to the city’s transparency portal.
Last week, Cardinal News reported that at least 20 Virginia localities recently stopped using Flock technology, terminated their Flock contracts or decided to let them expire. Since then, other localities have joined the list, including Martinsville and Prince Edward County, which announced that it would discontinue its use of Flock cameras on Sept. 3. Most communities that have de-Flocked are concentrated in the Southwest, Southside and Central Virginia regions.
“The public does not trust the Flock technology,” Police Chief Chad Rhoads said in an email to police department employees. “No amount of public education or transparency is going to stop the tidal wave.”
There have been no cases of misuse or unauthorized searches by Martinsville officers, and the cameras have been very effective, according to the city announcement. The contract with Flock was initiated in 2022, and since then, the cameras have helped locate missing people, recover stolen vehicles and uncover leads in criminal investigations, officials said. There are 41 cameras in Martinsville.
“Regardless of the usefulness of this crime-fighting tool, if the tool comes at the cost of public trust, we can’t continue its use,” Rhoads said in the email.
Rhoads declined to speak to Cardinal News about the decision.
The department has placed restrictions on the use of Flock cameras until the contract expires Dec. 31. The restrictions include:
- Only sergeants, lieutenants and department administrators are permitted to conduct searches of Flock.
- Searches may only be conducted for cases involving homicides, serious violent crimes and missing or endangered people.
- Outside agencies’ requests for assistance will not be authorized unless they fall into one of the categories above.
- Searches are no longer authorized for property crimes or wanted people who do not pose an immediate threat to public safety.
- The data retention period will be reduced to seven days. The period was previously 21 days.
The conversation about Flock cameras has reached both sides of the aisle in the General Assembly, with Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, and Sen. Glen Sturtevant, R-Chesterfield County, announcing legislative proposals to ban technologies like Flock statewide.
Flock partners with more than 6,000 law enforcement agencies across the country to provide public safety technology, such as automatic license plate readers and gunshot detectors. Proponents of the tech say it’s a helpful tool to investigate and solve cases, while opponents express concerns about warrantless surveillance, privacy and protection of data.
