Federal Court in Norfolk, VA Upholds Constitutionality of License Plate Recognition Technology
Norfolk, VA, Jan. 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia court in Norfolk, Virginia definitively upheld the constitutionality of the city of Norfolk’s License Plate Reader (LPR) camera system.
"This decision aligns with strong national precedent, as over 30 state and federal courts across the country, at both the trial and appellate levels, have concluded that fixed‑location ALPRs do not infringe on an individual’s reasonable expectation of privacy, and therefore do not constitute a search under the Fourth Amendment," said Dan Haley, Flock Safety's Chief Legal Officer.
This ruling recognizes the difference between fixed LPR – which record an image of a vehicle at a single moment in time — and continuous tracking technologies like mobile phones or GPS trackers. While courts have ruled that those technologies do create a holistic picture of a person’s movements and do require a warrant (U.S. v. Carpenter; Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle v. Baltimore Police), LPR is wholly different. Fixed LPR cameras record vehicles on public roads, without identifying the driver or passengers of the vehicle, following its direction of travel, or connecting that record to any confidential personal information.
In rejecting a core argument advanced by Plaintiffs in this case, and by anti-ALPR activists nationwide, the Court explicitly found that Norfolk’s ALPR system does not and cannot “track” any individual, writing,
Despite Plaintiffs' counsel's effective advocacy, the Court must conclude that the limited number of photographs available on a 21-day rolling basis from 75 camera track clusters in Norfolk does not "track" the whole of a person's movements nor does it provide an "intimate" window into where citizens drive, park, visit, linger, sleep, or patronize.
We expect there to be additional questions about this ruling and LPR technology and we stand ready to answer them, to discuss how LPR systems can protect communities’ safety and privacy, and to work with lawmakers on common-sense guardrails that protect the efficacy of this lifesaving tool.
About Flock Safety
Flock Safety is the leading safety technology platform, helping communities thrive by taking a proactive approach to crime prevention and security. Our end-to-end hardware and software suite unites cities, law enforcement, businesses, schools, and neighborhoods in a nationwide public-private safety network. Flock is trusted by more than 6,000 communities, 5,000 law enforcement agencies, and 1,000 businesses to deliver real-time intelligence while upholding the highest standards of privacy, data integrity, and responsible innovation. Visit www.flocksafety.com for more info.
Holly Beilin Flock Safety 1 (404) 476-6599 media@flocksafety.com
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