Fairfax County Police Department News

The Fairfax County Police Department is excited to join over 2,000+ law enforcement agencies, neighborhoods, and commercial centers in using the Flock Safety License Plate Reader (LPR) system. The use of license plate readers has been prevalent in law enforcement for decades. In 2008, Fairfax County began using the technology to identify stolen vehicles, stolen license plates, wanted persons, missing persons, or vehicles involved in felony crimes. The now antiquated equipment used for this enforcement is being replaced with Flock Safety LPR.

The Flock Safety license plate reader system is a stationary, solar-powered, pole-mounted reader that interacts with patrol officers and detectives. Alerts can be sent in real-time to officers working the area if a stolen car passes by the camera. While this concept is not new and has been in use for many years, the technology is new. The Flock system provides clearer and more precise information to officers that make it easier for police to identify the vehicle they are looking for. The system also can be used in cases where someone attempts to hide or remove their license plate by identifying vehicle characteristics such as make, body type, and color.

The Flock Safety LPR system does not alert for infractions regarding vehicle registration, driver’s license violations or suspensions, or unpaid parking tickets. No personal or driver information is captured by the cameras. The FCPD has chosen not to get alerts for violations regarding immigration status and does not share information to federal authorities regarding their investigations into immigration enforcement. The pictures collected by the cameras are stored on a cloud server for thirty days before they are permanently deleted and during that time they cannot be sold, monetized, or shared outside of law enforcement.

The Flock Safety cameras have already proven beneficial during an eight-week test period at just two locations. During that time, the FCPD recovered six stolen cars valued at over $250,000, as well as dangerous drugs including fentanyl and methamphetamines. The Flock Safety systems also send an alert to officers in real-time when a person who is reported missing to the police drives by the cameras. Two persons were quickly located by officers and safely returned home after alerts were sent. The officers can also search the cameras in cases when a person has been missing for several hours but there is a delay in reporting.

For more information about the Flock Safety LPR system or for sharable images, you can visit their website at http://www.flocksafety.com.