Harrisonburg Votes To Cut Flock Safety Cameras
Nate Fair · Jul 31, 2026 · 2 min read
The Harrisonburg City Council voted unanimously this week to end its contract with Flock Safety. They’ll bag the surveillance cameras with trash bags until removal. The council also plans an ordinance to block similar mass-surveillance groups.
This move follows a similar decision in Charlottesville earlier this year. That city stopped a one-year pilot program over data worries. They had ten cameras installed in late 2024 near the university. Staunton removed some of its Flock cameras but not all of them.
The Daily Signal reported that Norfolk’s system stayed on after a 2026 court ruling. Judge Mark S. Davis said the system is not a “search” under the Fourth Amendment. He noted the cameras take discrete images at different spots. The data only covers what is visible on public roads. Yet Harrisonburg chose to walk away from this technology entirely.
This issue unites both sides of the political aisle in strange ways. Conservatives want strong law enforcement but also value their privacy. Progressives often oppose police presence and see these tools as overreach. Some conservatives in cities fear being targeted for their political views. The burden of proof used to rest squarely on the government. You were supposed to be innocent until proven guilty of a crime.
Now the standard feels different in our modern digital age. The Daily Signal notes that reputation now affects how you earn a living. The new reality is that you are “innocent until alleged to be guilty by association or being nearby the guilty parties and failing to do anything about it!” This shift changes how families interact with their neighbors. It turns a drive down the street into a potential legal risk.
We must ask what kind of community we want to build. Do we want a place where every car is tracked constantly? Or do we want a town that trusts its people? The Daily Signal quotes critics who say the cameras target the vulnerable. They argue, “They are coming after our abuela’s and bus boys.” It’s about dignity, plain and simple, not just data.
Some might say the tracking helps catch bad guys quickly. But the Daily Signal points out that the system has gaps in coverage. Judge Davis himself noted these limits in his ruling. The technology is not perfect, yet it creates a permanent record. This feels like a trap for honest citizens who just want to live.
That’s a heavy price to pay for a system that isn’t even perfect. (Remember, Judge Davis admitted the coverage has gaps.)
We must stand for a system that respects the God-given right to privacy.
The question remains whether other towns will follow Harrisonburg’s lead. Will they see the cost to civil liberty as too high? Or will they keep the cameras and lose the trust of their people? The decision in Harrisonburg shows that some leaders are willing to say no. They chose to protect their community from mass surveillance.
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