City posts new data after mayor requests transparency
Alexandria on Tuesday updated its public Flock Safety license-plate reader (LPR) page to display two items that were not visible the day before: the number of searches run over the past 30 days and the full list of agencies authorized to query the system. The list contains 161 agencies — all based in Virginia — and the Police Department operates 61 cameras in the city.
The disclosure follows a week of movement on the issue. Flock Safety, the private company that provides the cameras and the software, urged agencies last week to publish their sharing partners and search activity. Mayor Alyia Gaskins said Sunday she had asked Police Chief Tarrick McGuire and City Manager James Parajon to publish those fields, release camera locations and activate new privacy controls announced by the vendor.
"I have reached out to the Chief and the City Manager to express my desire for a public conversation about the use of Flock cameras and other surveillance tech, including the types of technology, budgets, civil rights, criteria for placement decisions or disclosure of their use, current policies, etc.," Gaskins wrote in response to questions from The Alexandria Brief.
Who has access and what the list shows
The publicly posted list runs to 161 distinct Virginia entities, including municipal police departments, sheriff's offices and several state-level agencies. Fifty-nine entries on the list are identified as sheriff's offices. The list also includes statewide agencies such as the Virginia State Police, the Department of Corrections and the Department of Wildlife Resources. The city’s page does not list any federal or out-of-state agencies.
City officials did not provide an explanation Tuesday for why the two data fields appeared when they did. The Alexandria Brief reported Friday that those fields were not visible on the city’s Flock page and asked the Police Department why. Gaskins told that outlet on Sunday she had asked the chief and city manager to publish the information, though she did not specify when she made the request. A police spokesperson said Monday that questions would be routed to the lieutenant who oversees the program and that answers were expected once that lieutenant was in on Tuesday morning. At the time of publication, the department had not provided further comment.
What changed and what remains unclear
It is not yet clear whether the vendor’s guidance, the mayor’s request or internal city action — or some combination — prompted the change. Flock Safety did not respond to questions from reporters. The department’s public page now shows the two fields the mayor sought, but it does not include explanation of the criteria used to grant access to outside agencies, nor does it include a historical record explaining when each agency gained access.
- Systems in use: 61 cameras operated by Alexandria Police Department.
- Agencies listed: 161 Virginia entities authorized to search the system.
- Sheriff's offices: 59 of the listed agencies are sheriff's offices.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Cameras operated by APD | 61 |
| Agencies with access | 161 |
| Sheriff's offices on list | 59 |
The newly visible 30-day search count field appeared without an accompanying narrative from city officials about what threshold, if any, governs sharing or auditing. The Police Department has not published a historical log of search activity nor explained whether agencies outside Alexandria are required to justify searches to the city, to document investigatory purpose, or to agree to any local use limitations.
Local implications and next steps
For Alexandria residents, the posting raises questions about oversight and accountability. The mayor has asked for a public conversation covering technology types, budget impacts, civil-rights concerns, criteria for camera placement and greater disclosure of program policies. Those are matters typically debated at City Council meetings and through the city’s public-safety oversight channels.
City officials have the authority to set policy around the operation of APD systems and to determine disclosure practices. The public posting of the list and the 30-day search figure is a step toward transparency; however, officials still must answer basic questions about how outside access is granted and monitored, what privacy protections are in place, and whether changes to sharing arrangements are planned.
Reporters asked the Police Department and Flock Safety for comment; neither provided additional information by the time of publication. The city’s updated Flock page remains the most direct source for the current list and the newly visible search-count field.
