Richmond police chief cites recent rise in shootings, says ALPR system was disabled after outside access found
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Summary
Chief Tim Simmons told neighborhood presidents the department saw about 50 shooting incidents in the past 90 days and temporarily disabled the Flock automated license-plate reader (ALPR) when it became clear data had been accessible to outside agencies; he said Flock is working on remedies and he expects to bring the issue to council in early February.
Richmond Police Chief Tim Simmons told the Richmond Neighborhood Coordinating Council on Jan. 12 that the city has seen a recent uptick in violent crime and that the department temporarily disabled its Flock automated license-plate reader (ALPR) system after discovering that some data had been accessible to outside law-enforcement agencies.
"Over the last 90 days, our city has seen a troubling increase in violent crime," Simmons said, adding that "we've had approximately 50 separate shooting incidents" during that period and that about 16 violent-felony investigations could have benefited from ALPR leads. He said the decision to turn off the system was made to protect community trust and data privacy.
Simmons told the council he has met directly with Flock executives, said "to their credit, Flock has worked diligently to address the issue," and that he is "carefully evaluating the remedies before making any decision about future use." He said his intent is to return to council in early February to present options for restoring or replacing the technology.
The chief described staffing and operational impacts tied to the shutdown. He said the department currently has about 22 vacancies and has recently sworn in four lateral officers. "As our staffing numbers improve, my intent is to redeploy the specialty units dismantled over the past several years," Simmons said, adding that the department is actively recruiting both lateral and new officers and that he expects more swearing-in ceremonies soon.
During a question-and-answer session, neighborhood leaders pressed the chief on beat-officer continuity. Multiple speakers said six-month rotations make it difficult to build relationships with a single officer. Simmons said moving to an annual selection process would require negotiation with the Richmond Police Officers Association but that it is on the list of priorities as staffing improves.
Captain John Lopez, who oversees patrol, told attendees the department was down to roughly 41 officers at a low point in 2025 and is currently at about 49 active patrol officers (not counting sergeants and lieutenants), with a goal of reaching 55 by June. Lopez provided an email for neighborhood requests: jlopez@richmondpd.net.
Simmons invited neighborhood presidents to his swearing-in ceremony and reception planned for Jan. 29, and said he welcomes continued engagement as the department weighs technology, staffing and community-partnership options. The chief said community trust must guide decisions about surveillance technology and data sharing as the department balances investigative needs with privacy concerns.
Next steps: Simmons said he plans to present the findings and proposed remedies for the ALPR system to the city council in early February, and neighborhood leaders were asked to submit meeting schedules and questions to the patrol commander to coordinate engagement.
