Richmond police keep automated license-plate readers offline as council weighs policy

Chief Tim Simmons told the Richmond Neighborhood Coordinating Council on March 9 that Richmond’s automated license-plate reader (ALPR) system — commonly referred to as Flock — remains turned off while the city and police department evaluate policy and technical safeguards.

“The cameras are off,” Simmons said, explaining he paused the ALPR deployment after discovering an operating-system feature allowed a national search of full license-plate numbers, which made Richmond’s plate data accessible to other agencies. “There’s no evidence that any information in the city of Richmond was ever used or accessed. It was made accessible but not accessed,” he said.

Simmons said the pause began in early November when the feature was discovered and that he is seeking City Council direction before reactivating ALPR. He told the council the department has issued a request for proposals to assess other vendors that supply similar public-safety technology.

The chief emphasized that other surveillance tools remain active: closed-circuit television cameras and a “drone-as-first-responder” program continue to operate. He said CCTV is used to monitor city infrastructure and high-dumping locations and that the drone is deployed to provide aerial information to officers during critical incidents, search-and-rescue missions and evacuations.

Simmons framed the decision as one about balancing public safety and civil liberties. “Any technology used by the Richmond Police Department must be used in a transparent manner that improves community safety while also protecting the rights and civil liberties of our residents,” he said.

Community leaders and residents asked questions during a lengthy Q&A. Oscar Garcia, president of the Iron Triangle Neighborhood Council, urged re-implementation of the ALPR cameras, saying he has observed a rise in crime since they were shut down. Several neighborhood representatives echoed a desire for effective tools to locate missing people and deter vehicle-enabled crime.

Other participants pushed the department to pursue transparency and strong policy safeguards if ALPR is reintroduced. In response, Simmons said the ALPR pause reflects the department’s commitment to public debate and oversight: “We will continue to honor that pause while the city council evaluates policy considerations and while we continue to engage with discussions with the city council, with our community, and other community stakeholders.”

Captain John Lopez provided staffing context later in the meeting: the department currently reports about 51 officers assigned to patrol (on-duty and in service), nine officers in training, 12 officers on probation, and a recruitment target that will take staffed numbers higher in the coming months.

The City Council is scheduled to review public-safety technology policy; Simmons said he expects discussion of vendor options and policy language to continue at that level before any ALPR reactivation.

Next steps: the police department will await City Council direction, continue community engagement through neighborhood councils, and evaluate vendor responses to the RFP.