Staunton police brief council on license-plate reader use as residents press for tighter limits or removal

Police Chief Jim Williams briefed Staunton City Council on Oct. 9 about the city’s stationary automated license-plate readers (ALPRs), the state rules governing their use and retention, and how police have used ALPR results in investigations. After the briefing, several residents spoke during Matters from the Public urging the city to curtail or remove the system.

Williams told council the department has used ALPRs in some form for 15–16 years and added six stationary units about a year ago. He described Virginia law and local policy limitations, including permitted purposes (criminal investigations with reasonable suspicion, locating missing endangered persons, stolen-vehicle alerts and similar authorized uses), the 21-day retention period mandated by state code and an annual reporting obligation to Virginia State Police. “We are not allowed under any circumstances to use ALPR systems to track individuals engaged in lawful activities or based on their First Amendment rights,” Chief Williams said.

Williams reviewed cases where ALPR hits aided investigations: a February suspect captured after repeated reads at a Sheetz station; recovery of a stolen pickup; an alert that led officers to a Budget Inn location; a person missing from Delaware located at a Staunton gas station after an ALPR hit; and a multi-jurisdictional larceny series linked to a vehicle identified via ALPR. He described the system as an “investigative lead” that provides still images and time-location records to focus patrols or follow-up investigations.

Williams explained how the system’s alerts and search functions operate and demonstrated the dashboard used by investigators. He emphasized auditability and stated the department conducts monthly audits to review access logs. He said vendors and the city maintain contractual and policy controls and that, per state law, non-law-enforcement sharing is restricted.

Several residents addressed council during Matters from the Public to raise privacy and oversight concerns and to urge suspension or cancellation of the contract with Flock (the vendor used by Staunton). Mark Hopp said the system builds a database of locations over time that he described as “an end run around the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling” on historical cell-site tracking and argued the only certain safeguard is not collecting the data. Dwayne Barron told council, “Flock Safety’s goal is a nationwide surveillance system,” and expressed concern that data stored on third-party servers can be accessed or misused. Multiple other speakers urged the city to be a local leader in rescinding or restricting the system.

Councilors asked Williams technical and policy questions including retention, audit processes, third-party access and whether external agencies could query the system; Williams said the vendor and policy limit access and that the department audits user queries. He noted grant opportunities (Virginia State Police funds) could pay for additional cameras, but also acknowledged legal and public-opinion issues. The department said it does not sell ALPR data and that disclosure is limited by law to authorized law-enforcement uses.

No council action was taken Oct. 9; councilors and staff discussed scheduling follow-up briefing materials and referenced the city’s Flock transparency portal and the local ALPR policy posted on the police department web page.