Hey Richmond, It’s your Mayor, Danny 

As mayor, my primary responsibility is the safety and wellbeing of Richmond Residents. 

As it relates to public safety, there are so many things we have gotten right –  

• community policing 
• neighborhood association partnerships 
• critical incident briefings about officer-involved shootings 
• cracking down on unregulated vape shops through Operation Vaporize 
• double digit reductions in major crimes... 

the list goes on  

Over the last year, the issue of how we use License Plate Reader Technology, and particularly our relationship with a company called Flock has been an increasing issue of public concern, here in Richmond, and across the nation.   

I have been very consistent about saying that our choice to use this technology is because i believe the benefits to public safety outweigh the risks it poses to our community 

But I have also been very consistent about saying that it is not a closed issue, and that I will always remain open to hearing from the people of Richmond on it   

I think the shift in public sentiment around Flock, particularly acute in the last couple of months, requires us to reevaluate our relationship with Flock. 

I don’t know exactly what that looks like right now, but I want to figure that out, together, with Richmonders, with our City Council, and with our partners in the State Legislature.  

I wanted to reassure you all that this is a topic I am thinking about regularly, and share with you a bit about how I'm thinking about this. 

Here are some things I believe:  

I believe that Flock, and automatic license plate reader – or ALPR -  technology in general, is a legitimately useful tool that the Richmond Police Department uses to help keep our communities safe and solve crimes. 

I believe that there are real privacy concerns with both ALPR technology generally and with Flock, Richmond’s current vendor 

I believe, in Richmond, the communities who actually benefit most from this technology are often those who are disproportionately impacted by violent crime. 

I believe that people of color can often be over-policed and over-surveilled. 

I believe that the City of Richmond, and RPD, have been leaders in adopting and following the guardrails set out by the Commonwealth 

I believe that, if we’re going to use this technology, we've got to have the proper guardrails in place, and we must be transparent with the public when those guardrails are violated. 

I believe that at the state level, the Commonwealth of Virginia is an important partner in protecting the privacy of residents. My team and I will continue to advocate for that at the General Assembly this year. 

And I believe this is a complex issue that people feel strongly about across the board. My job is to keep people safe, to listen well to our communities, and to navigate this thoughtfully.  

So here’s what I’m committing to do.  

First, we’re going to review the technology itself and our relationship with Flock. That includes exploring other options and asking whether there are other technology vendors that can provide the public safety benefits we need while better addressing the concerns some Richmonders have raised; we still have another year on the contract so I will need some time on that 

Second, we’re going to listen and learn.  In the coming weeks, I plan to gather resident feedback in a variety of forums. It’s important to me that we hear from a broad cross-section of Richmonders, as well as our elected City Council.  

Third, we will take another look at our oversight and transparency, including whether an independent third party should come in and look at our current policies and procedures.  

Fourth, effective immediately, I am directing that RPD reduce their ALPR data retention policy from its current 21 days down to 7 days. 

What I hear and learn in this listening process will inform our path forward.   

Appreciate you all taking the time to listen to this, more to come soon.