CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – Automated license plate readers, commonly called Flock cameras, have quietly spread across Christiansburg — and many of the people who drive past them every day had no idea they were there.
The cameras automatically record a vehicle’s license plate number, location, and time of day as it passes.
Cameras closer together than most residents realized
The cameras are not just scattered across town — in some stretches, they are clustered tightly together. There are three separate ALPRs within a quarter mile of each other off Peppers Ferry Road in Christiansburg. A fourth was located less than a quarter mile from the others.
Blacksburg resident Justin Whitlock said the concentration caught him off guard.
“I’ve come in and out of here a million times. I had no idea that was there. I don’t even know when they put it on,” Whitlock said. “It is a little shocking, the fact that they are so common. And it’s hard to have any idea that they’re there.”
Christiansburg resident Michael Marcenelle said he had read reports about the cameras coming to the area — but was still surprised to find multiple.
“I had read that they were coming and I’m just surprised to find that they’re right here in the parking lot at Lowe’s where I work often and at the intersection,” Marcenelle said.
Residents split on safety versus privacy
Reactions from locals ranged from cautious support to genuine concern about who has access to the data being collected.
Some residents said the cameras offer a sense of security. Christiansburg resident Jonica Hocker said she felt safer after learning about them — even though she had not noticed them before.
“I didn’t even know they were around. I had no clue it was here, but it does kind of make me feel a little bit safer,” Hocker said.
New Castle resident Joseph Cunningham said he believes the technology benefits law enforcement.
“I suppose they’re a good thing. I think that it probably helped the law enforcement out more than anything,” Cunningham said.
But others said the cameras raise serious questions about oversight and data security.
Marcenelle said he draws a distinction between private security cameras and government surveillance.
“I have no problem with Lowe’s having security and cameras in their parking lot. But for law enforcement and who knows who else, whoever’s hacking that information, it’s concerning to me,” he said.
Christiansburg resident Jim Bohland said the cameras are only acceptable under a specific condition.
“I don’t have any problems with them as long as there is good oversight by public officials and to a great extent the public themselves,” Bohland said. “If that is lacking, then I think they ought to be removed because they do constitute a potential massive invasion of privacy.”
‘When you go in public, you’re agreeing to go in public — but privacy’s still privacy’
Whitlock said his concern goes beyond local law enforcement to the broader question of who ultimately controls the data.
“When you go in public, you’re agreeing to go in public, but privacy’s still privacy. And I think anytime you have something surveilling you at all times, you’re going to want the people that are handling that material or that data to be the right ones. Because you can obviously use that in whatever way you want, which a lot of our tech giants are exploiting a little bit here and there,” Whitlock said.
Hocker also questioned whether the cameras are necessary given the area’s crime levels.
“I don’t feel like we have that much of an issue with crime here as much as some other places. So I don’t really know — is it necessary? We don’t know,” she said.
Chris Yaeger, a father of a Virginia Tech student, said he has mixed feelings but is not moved to take action.
“It’s not something I’m going to go out and protest about, but generally I don’t like it. I can see where it could be useful in law enforcement,” Yaeger said.