Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. Benjamin Franklin, 1755
What this is
Virginia's Flock Patrol is a public safety advocacy website. It maps the automated license plate reader (ALPR) surveillance cameras deployed across the Commonwealth — the fixed cameras that photograph every passing vehicle, read its plate, and log where and when it was seen. Most are made by Flock Safety. These are cameras on public roads, and where they sit is public knowledge. This map gathers that knowledge in one place so Virginians can see the network that watches them, and weigh public safety against the privacy of the people it is meant to protect.
Where the data comes from
Camera locations are drawn from OpenStreetMap, the open geographic database, and its ALPR-mapping community. The dataset is licensed under the Open Database License (ODbL). It is not complete and never will be — new cameras go up constantly — which is where you come in.
Dirty Bird
See a camera the map missed? Drop it. See one that's dark, knocked askew, blocked by an overgrown branch, or simply gone? Report what you observe. "Dirty Bird" is a citizen status log — a record of what these cameras are actually doing, kept by the people who live under them. It is an observation tool, not a call to touch anything. Report what you see from the public right-of-way; leave the hardware alone.
Why it matters
A camera that reads and stores your plate every time you pass builds a map of your movements without a warrant and without your consent. Knowing where the cameras are is the first condition of an informed public debate about whether, and on what terms, that surveillance should exist. Sunlight on the watchers is not an attack on safety. It is the price of a free society keeping its eyes open.