Cameras / VA
License plate readers in Virginia
3,197 cameras have been documented in Virginia. That is the 12th-largest documented total of the 51 states and territories with any readers on record, and 2.5% of the 130,300 documented nationwide. Norfolk has the most of any city in the state, with 236 — 7.4% of the total. Flock Safety built 93% of the 1,841 readers counted in the state's indexed cities. 1,841 of them stand in the 45 cities listed below. 1,356 more are outside those city limits — along highways, in smaller towns, and in unincorporated areas.
Updated August 14, 2026.
3,197
cameras documented statewide
12th
most-documented of 51 states and territories
1,841
in listed cities
1,356
outside city limits
ALPR law in Virginia
Virginia regulates automated license plate readers under Va. Code § 2.2-5517. The statute caps retention at 21 days. Enacted by HB 2724 and effective July 1, 2025, Virginia's statute requires plate data to be purged 21 days after capture so that neither the agency nor its vendor can recover it. Queries are limited to crimes supported by reasonable suspicion, missing-person cases, and hot-list alerts; an alert alone is not reasonable suspicion for a stop, and willful misuse is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Who makes them
Manufacturer, where volunteers recorded it, for cameras in the listed cities.
- Flock Safety1,721
- Motorola Solutions7
- Genetec8
- Leonardo/ELSAG21
- Neology4
- Other vendors54
- Unknown26
By city
| City | Cameras | Per square mile |
|---|---|---|
| Norfolk | 236 | 4.43 |
| Virginia Beach | 145 | 0.59 |
| Hampton | 144 | 2.80 |
| Richmond | 142 | 2.37 |
| Suffolk | 134 | 0.34 |
| Newport News | 109 | 1.58 |
| Portsmouth | 105 | 3.15 |
| Chesapeake | 86 | 0.25 |
| Alexandria | 74 | 4.95 |
| Arlington | 62 | 2.38 |
| Williamsburg | 39 | 4.36 |
| Fairfax | 38 | 6.09 |
| Roanoke | 33 | 0.78 |
| Blacksburg | 24 | 1.21 |
| Hopewell | 22 | 2.12 |
| Tysons | 22 | 5.16 |
| Sudley | 20 | 7.26 |
| Potomac Mills | 19 | 4.47 |
| Springfield | 19 | 2.42 |
| Herndon | 19 | 4.43 |
| Lynchburg | 18 | 0.37 |
| Reston | 18 | 1.17 |
| George Mason | 18 | 7.09 |
| Danville | 18 | 0.42 |
| Emporia | 17 | 2.56 |
| Chester | 17 | 1.29 |
| Huntington | 17 | 15.05 |
| Smithfield | 16 | 1.65 |
| Chantilly | 15 | 1.25 |
| Martinsville | 15 | 1.37 |
| Leesburg | 15 | 1.19 |
| Culpeper | 14 | 1.86 |
| Bluefield | 14 | 1.47 |
| Fredericksburg | 14 | 1.34 |
| Centreville | 13 | 1.09 |
| Woodstock | 13 | 3.41 |
| Tuckahoe | 12 | 0.59 |
| Colonial Heights | 12 | 1.60 |
| Franklin | 11 | 1.33 |
| Dale City | 11 | 0.77 |
| Bailey's Crossroads | 11 | 5.36 |
| Christiansburg | 10 | 0.68 |
| Petersburg | 10 | 0.44 |
| Vienna | 10 | 2.27 |
| Galax | 10 | 1.21 |
Camera locations: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). City boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files. Counts reflect volunteer documentation, not an official census; cities appear once ten cameras are documented.