FLOCK CAMERAS - Letter from the Chief of Police.

To the Citizens and Business Owners of the Town of Bedford:

I want to take a moment to talk about some technology we use to help fulfill the mission we have

here at the Bedford Police Department of Preserving Life, Protecting the Vulnerable, and

creating Problem-solving Partnerships to prevent and solve crime here in our amazing town.

Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) Systems have been in use across the United

States by police and private enterprise for many years.

We utilize Flock Cameras here in Bedford. ALPR Systems are manufactured by several companies and can be mounted on poles, vehicles, buildings, or held in the hand. Recently, there have been a rash of social media posts containing both inaccurate and greatly exaggerated information concerning this technology. Our

citizens and business owners here in Bedford cherish their safety and rightly expect to be

protected from crime. The trusting relationships between the public and the Bedford Police to

create that peace and safety have been built over a period of many years. Since accepting the

job as chief a little over a year ago, I have noticed that criminals tend to travel to Bedford from

surrounding urban areas to commit crimes, steal from our citizens, or otherwise victimize

people. Some mistakenly believe we are an easy target. Unfortunately for them, we have some

of the best officers and detectives in the state, and they are well-equipped to do the job

effectively. We have used an ALPR system as part of our investigative technology to identify

these folks on numerous occasions, to build cases against them, and to bring them to justice.

Across the country and the Commonwealth, police agencies have used this valuable tool to

solve many crimes and to capture predators on many occasions; including homicides,

kidnappings, and missing endangered persons, felony theft, and narcotics trafficking. Some

citizens understandably have privacy concerns about the use of ALPRs, and I’m sure most folks

are at least curious about them, so I want to answer a few questions you may have.

ALPR systems only do two things: First, they take a picture of the government-owned piece of

property attached to a vehicle, the license plate, while it is travelling on a public highway. They

also snap a photo or a short video that captures the description of the vehicle. They are utilized

by the Bedford Police Department in public areas only and evidence derived from them has

been declared as legal in court after being challenged time after time by criminal defendants

throughout the country. Data is used for law enforcement purposes only, and the system can

only be searched when a Bedford Police Department criminal case report number is entered

into the system. Data is never sold to third parties, and is only maintained for 21 days unless

used as part of a specific criminal case. The Bedford Police Department conducts monthly

internal audits to ensure proper use, and the Virginia State Police conduct external audits

quarterly. Prohibited uses include immigration enforcement, traffic enforcement, harassment or

intimidation, and usage based solely on a protected class such as race, sex, or religion.

Personal use is also prohibited.

Here at the Bedford Police Department, ALPR Systems are regulated by both Virginia State

Law, which can be found here: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodeupdates/title2.2/section2.2-

5517/ and our own internal policy, which is attached to this letter.

Here are the statistics of Bedford Police Department use of Flock in the First Quarter of 2026

and the number of times detectives or officers queried the system in reference to solving the

following crimes:

DUI – 10 Weapon Offenses – 3 Stolen Property – 16 Sex Offenses – 4

Robbery – 56 Larceny/Theft – 348 Drug/Narcotics – 34 Assault – 7

Vandalism/Destruction of Property – 43 Wanted Persons – 53

Stolen License Plate - 3 Endangered Persons – 23 Missing Person - 16

Stolen Vehicle - 13

As your chief of police, I would be derelict in my duty if I failed to use available effective and

affordable technology in an ethical manner to keep us ahead of criminals and to help keep

Bedford a safe place to live, work, and raise a family. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the

Bedford Police Department if you have further questions.

Sincerely,

Jim Moore – Chief of Police

LPR Policy.pdf

Download PDF • 1.70MB

Flock letter to public.docx

Download DOCX • 128KB