Flock & ALPR cameras in Virginia
Public map data records 3,437 ALPR cameras inside Virginia's borders as of 3 September 2026, run by 230 different operators. Around Norfolk the map records 1,141, the most of any VA metro. See every camera, which way it faces and its approximate capture zone — free, no account.
Virginia records 3,437 mapped plate readers across 230 operators. Fairfax County Sheriff's Office runs the largest share at 6%, ahead of Norfolk Police Department on 181. Every count on this page is measured inside the state line, so it's a floor for the state — not an estimate stitched together from overlapping city boxes. 697 of the 3,437 cameras carry no operator at all, so the operator shares above are shares of the attributed cameras.
Open the live camera mapWhich Virginia cities have Flock cameras?
What the public map records around each Virginia metro on 3 September 2026.
Norfolk
1,141 cameras
Chesapeake
1,004 cameras
Arlington
918 cameras
Alexandria
879 cameras
604 cameras
561 cameras
Roanoke
127 cameras
Charlottesville
48 cameras
Virginia Beach and Richmond have full pages with operator, vendor and direction breakdowns; the other metros are covered by the live map. Metro figures are read as bounding boxes around each city centre, so neighbouring metros can overlap and the boxes reach past city limits — never add them up. The state total above is counted inside the state boundary instead, which is why it is the number to quote.
The largest ALPR operators in Virginia
Virginia's largest ALPR operators, counted inside the state line.
Fairfax County Sheriff's Office
192 cameras
Norfolk Police Department
181 cameras
Richmond Police Department
144 cameras
Suffolk Police Department
112 cameras
Lowe's
110 cameras
Hampton Police Division
107 cameras
Newport News Police Department
106 cameras
Henrico County Police Department
96 cameras
Read the operator column two ways. By size, Fairfax County Sheriff's Office dominates with 192 cameras (6% of the state). By count, the other 229 operators run the remaining 94% between them, and 1 of the top eight is a county sheriff rather than city forces.
Where the map has no operator tag, the operator is inferred from the surrounding jurisdiction; that applies to 1,478 of 3,437 cameras in Virginia. Treat names as likely, not certain.
It isn't all Flock in Virginia
The vendor mix behind the state's plate readers.
Flock Safety
2,439 cameras
Axis Communications
43 cameras
Axon Enterprise
23 cameras
Motorola Solutions
20 cameras
Genetec
18 cameras
'Flock camera' is shorthand here, not the whole story: 94% of vendor-tagged cameras in Virginia are Flock Safety, and Axis Communications accounts for 43. 851 cameras are unattributed to any vendor.
The map knows which way 90% of Virginia's cameras face (3,104 of 3,437). Mounts, where recorded: pole (1,450), street lamp (106), wall (18), post (6).
Documented ALPR programs in Virginia
The EFF's Atlas of Surveillance documents 151 agencies in Virginia with automated license plate readers, from public records and news reports. The map records 230 operators — the gap between the two is the difference between a records project and a mapping project, not a contradiction.
Stafford County Sheriff's Office — Stafford County
According the Free Lance-Star, the Stafford County Sheriff's Office has operated automated license plate Rreaders since March 2011.
Harrisonburg Police Department — Rockingham County
The Harrisonburg Police Department obtained automated license plate readers in 2014.
Falls Church Police Department
The Falls Church Police Department purchased access to automated license plate reader data via the CLEAR platform in 2019. Vendor: Thomson Reuters CLEAR.
Virginia Commonwealth University Parking and Transportation — Richmond County
Virginia Commonwealth University Parking and Transportation planned to implement automated license plate reader technology in 2020.
Richmond Police Department — Richmond (city) County
As of April 2024, the Richmond Police Department operates 97 Flock Safety automated license plate readers. The agency stores ALPR data for 30 days. Vendor: Flock Safety.
Blacksburg Police Department — Montgomery
The Blacksburg Police Department added an ELSAG license plate reader to at least one of their vehicles as early as 2010. Vendor: ELSAG.
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation, Atlas of Surveillance. Summaries are the Atlas's own wording, trimmed to a complete sentence.
Virginia ALPR questions
How many Flock cameras are there in Virginia?
Public map data records 3,437 ALPR cameras inside Virginia as of 3 September 2026, counted against the state boundary rather than by metro box. 2,439 of the vendor-tagged ones are Flock Safety. Treat it as a floor: cameras appear as people map them, and rural areas are thinly covered.
Which cities in Virginia have Flock cameras?
The largest clusters are around Norfolk (1,141), Chesapeake (1,004), Arlington (918), Alexandria (879), Virginia Beach (604), Richmond (561). Smaller VA towns appear on the live map too — these are simply the biggest metro areas.
Who operates ALPR cameras in Virginia?
230 operators in total. The largest is Fairfax County Sheriff's Office with 192 mapped cameras, then Norfolk Police Department with 181. Of cameras with a recorded operator type, 715 are police, 763 are sheriff's offices and 32 are privately run.
Are all the plate readers in Virginia made by Flock?
No. Flock Safety is tagged on 2,439 of 2,586 vendor-recorded cameras (94%); Axis Communications accounts for 43, and 851 cameras have no vendor recorded at all. 'Flock camera' is the common name, but the map covers every ALPR it can find.
Can I avoid Flock cameras when driving in Virginia?
BanditKin's opt-in avoidance uses each camera's approximate capture zone, so it works best where bearings are recorded (90% of Virginia's cameras). When a clean route isn't possible it falls back to the normal one rather than pretending. It is a privacy preference built on public data, not a way to evade law enforcement.