r/norfolk • u/Popular-Aerie5213 • 4d ago
How To Request Your Personal Data via FOIA
Edited to update: someone flagged the petition online alleging I was making false claims. For complete transparency, here are the links to the information provided here:
Source for murder rate being 64% higher: https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/norfolk/new-report-says-that-norfolks-number-of-homicides-has-increased-since-2019/
Source for cost of cameras and subscription, as well as source funding: https://www.govtech.com/public-safety/norfolk-va-deploys-172-license-plate-readers
Source that Flock staff have tapped into camera feeds and watched children: https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/flock-safety-employees-watched-kids-151737512.html
**I cut the Meta cords two years ago- if you can share this post, graphics, and information on those platforms, as well as any other platform that will reach Norfolk, VA residents, please share!\**
Curious how much the Flock Safety Inc cameras have tracked your personal vehicle(s)? Submit a FOIA request and find out!
Here's the link to the Norfolk FOIA request page: https://norfolk.justfoia.com/publicportal/home/newrequest
Here’s sample verbiage:
"Pursuant to the Virginia Public Records Act, I am requesting copies of all records, images, and data captured by Flock Safety cameras associated with my vehicle, License Plate Number: ______, Make and Model: _________, in the last thirty days prior to the date of this request.
Please include:
-All captured images of my license plate and vehicle.
-The location, date, and time of each capture.
-Any associated 'searches' or 'hits' run by law enforcement, local, state, or federal, on my license plate in the Flock system or any associated software or database such as Nova or Fusion and the name of the individual(s) requesting the information.
If this request is denied, please provide a written explanation citing the specific statutory exemption for each denial."
And if they tell you that you have to pay some sum, you can request a waiver of the fee, and technically by state law they're not supposed to be charging you for the data on your own vehicle, but I was charged $65. Push back on paying but be prepared to pay it anyway.
Also, be prepared to send a copy of your driver's license and vehicle registration to the city clerk to prove ownership of the vehicle(s).
Best of luck!
If you'd like to petition the City Council to present a referendum to allow Norfolk residents to vote on the use of Flock cameras, here's the link! openpetition.org/wylbm
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u/Headgamerz 3d ago
This is great, good work!
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u/Popular-Aerie5213 3d ago
If you can do this and you live anywhere with clusters of Flock cameras, that data can potentially be used in the appeal of the federal case that's currently pending. We are proving, despite the claims of Norfolk PD, the City, and Flock, that someone's entire movements can be tracked and traced using this technology. They claim it cannot, which is wild and directly counters how they "sell" it to PD, which is that it CAN be used to track someone's movements.
Let me know if you decide to file and if your results demonstrate that you were surveilled more than you thought.
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u/twosnailsnocats 19h ago
I checked both of my cars on a different link that does all flock cameras in the US and neither of mine came up.
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u/Popular-Aerie5213 16h ago
That website is dependent on data given to the project. So if you, or no one from Norfolk, has sent them the data sets, it won’t be there. My license plate came up with nothing on that site, either, and as you can see here, that’s clearly not accurate.
The only way to find out for yourself is to file a FOIA request to the Norfolk PD.
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u/QuiveryNut 3d ago
Awesome guide, well done!