HARRISONBURG, VA (Rocktown Now) — The Harrisonburg City Council approved the resolution to prohibit the use of Flock cameras in the City of Harrisonburg and to direct staff to terminate an existing contract with Flock Group, Inc. for the use of the city’s existing automatic license plate recognition system. 

This comes after criticism from several Harrisonburg residents which included concerns about equity, privacy, data security, and the potential diminished community trust in law enforcement. 

Councilmember Laura Dent highlighted the first sentence in the policy which said: 

“The City of Harrisonburg values the privacy of its community members and visitors, the protection
of their civil rights and civil liberties, and the trust between members of the Harrisonburg
community and the Harrisonburg Police Department (HPD or the Department).”

Also included in the resolution is the city council encouraging future City Councils that evaluate this technology to thoroughly consider the concerns related to equity, privacy and data security.