You can see automatic license plate reader cameras along roads all over the state.
They snap a photo of every car that drives by, collecting information like the license plate, make, model and bumper stickers. This information gets saved in searchable databases used by law enforcement, which has raised privacy concerns and triggered legal challenges.
In Virginia, most of these cameras are operated by a private company called Flock Safety. The locations of ALPR cameras are not typically shared with the public, adding to people’s concerns about how the data gets used. But a federal judge unsealed the locations of 614 Flock cameras in Hampton Roads last November…