Active
Who approved this?
No source names who approved this contract. That gap is common where a purchase cleared without a council vote.
The Bridgewater Police Department runs 5 Flock Safety license plate cameras at the entrances to town and has used automated readers since 2023. The department page cites Code of Virginia 2.2-5517 and holds plate data for 21 days. Bridgewater shares data with town, city, university and airport police departments and county sheriff offices across Virginia, plus the State Police, the Department of Corrections and the Department of Wildlife Resources, and states that federal sharing is barred by state law. Access records are kept for 2 years, the police chief audits them routinely, and the page discloses one improper access in 2025 that led to added staff training on confidentiality. WMRA reported on August 12, 2026 that Bridgewater bought its cameras with a Help Eliminate Auto Theft grant and still faces operating costs once that money runs out. The Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism reported on August 14, 2026 that Bridgewater plate data had been searched more than 7 million times by law enforcement nationally. No council vote on the contract is documented in any source reviewed, and no contract amount, term length or renewal date is published.
Renewal date pending
The contract end date has not yet been confirmed from records.
The money
- Cameras: 5
- Funding source: Other grant
What happens next
Renewals are decided in public. Residents can attend the meeting, speak during public comment, and write to the office above through official channels. The ACLU publishes a model cancellation resolution officials can adapt.
Sources
- Town of Bridgewater Police Department: Flock cameras and ALPRs page bridgewater.town
- WMRA: Rockingham County installs Flock cameras as Harrisonburg and Elkton eliminate them (August 12, 2026) wmra.org
- Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism via WHRO: As Flock surveillance spreads, Virginia communities push back (August 14, 2026) whro.org
Last verified: September 8, 2026. Something wrong? Request a correction.
The record
The sources do not say who approved this contract. Operating agency: Bridgewater Police Department.
Cameras: 5. Funding came through WMRA reported the initial camera purchase was covered by a Help Eliminate Auto Theft grant funded through assessments on car insurance premiums, with operating costs continuing after the grant is spent.
The contract is active.
3 sources back this record; each is listed with its date under Sources. Last verified September 8, 2026. Every Virginia record is listed on the Virginia hub; the tracker lists all of them.
Cite this record
Who Approved This, "Bridgewater, VA Flock Contract," whoapprovedthis.org, accessed October 7, 2026, https://whoapprovedthis.org/city/va-bridgewater/.
Related
Read on
- All 41 Virginia records
- What the Virginia file shows
- What these terms mean
- What state law does to a contract
- Norfolk, VA Active
- Suffolk, VA Active
- Richmond, VA Active
- Camera locations near Bridgewater: DeFlock (external, crowdsourced)
- Agency transparency portal, if published: transparency.flocksafety.com; aggregated at Eyes on Flock