Town Manager Mercury Payton and Police Chief Dan Janickey used a new podcast episode to discuss Vienna's use of Flock Safety license plate readers, even as Arlington and Fairfax County move to limit the technology.
The episode of "On Deck with Mercury," posted Tuesday, Oct. 13, is the town's latest effort to address resident concerns about the automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras. The Town of Vienna announced the episode on X, directing viewers to watch on YouTube.
The podcast follows months of public pressure. At the Aug. 24 Town Council meeting, resident Robbie Lapham told council members there are 10 Flock cameras around Vienna and called for their removal. Lapham argued the council never voted to authorize the cameras and said the decision should be put before elected officials.
At the Sept. 14 council meeting, resident Crystal Boyd urged the council to reconsider the cameras.
"These companies are using these networks to track our movements, violate our fourth, fifth, and fourteenth amendment rights, and to round up our neighbors," Boyd said at the meeting.
Mayor Colbert said after that meeting that she had discussed the issue with the police chief and that the department had posted additional information about Flock cameras on the town's police website.
Vienna police have pointed to the technology's investigative value. In March 2026, Detective Brad Reedy and Vienna detectives used Flock LPR data and regional coordination to identify a suspect in a series of overnight burglaries along Maple Avenue, according to the Vienna Police Department's official X account. The suspect was charged with four counts of burglary and destruction of property.
The podcast lands at a moment when neighboring jurisdictions are pulling back. On Sept. 15, the Arlington County Board voted to discontinue its 41 county-leased Flock cameras and ordered all equipment removed, as Northern Virginia Magazine reported.
Also on Sept. 15, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to pause new Flock camera installations by the Fairfax County Police Department, which operates 84 stationary Flock cameras, according to FFXnow. The pause does not affect existing cameras.
"There are some very real issues with the corporate entity that runs this program and what they are doing with data …" Fairfax County Board Chair Jeff McKay said at the Sept. 15 meeting, as Patch reported. McKay sent Flock's CEO a letter asking the company to clarify data ownership, access and how its AI-powered searches work.
On Sept. 24, the Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously to ban ALPRs on school property, a largely preemptive measure since no cameras were installed or planned, FFXnow reported.
Vienna has not announced any plans to remove or restrict its Flock cameras. No upcoming Town Council vote or public hearing on the issue appears in available public records. The Fairfax County Board's Safety and Security Committee is scheduled to review the county's Flock program on Oct. 20.
