Where Are Alexandria’s License Plate Readers? Police Release Official Map
Residents can see camera locations as police release new results and explain limits on an outside audit.
By The Zebra Press
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Wondering where Alexandria’s police license plate readers are? Residents now have an official map to consult.
The Alexandria Police Department published the locations of its 61 fixed readers Thursday, October 1, as first reported by The Alexandria Brief.
Open the official Alexandria Police Department camera map here. The downloadable map includes street names and police beat boundaries, helping readers orient themselves across the city.
What the new numbers show
In its updated answers to City Council, APD reports 20,914 queries from August 1, 2025, through August 31, 2026—a 13-month span. Police attribute 35 of 161 stolen-vehicle recoveries, four firearm seizures and three missing-person recoveries directly to the technology.
A different approach to outside review
APD says Virginia law prevents a traditional third-party audit involving underlying system data and audit records. Ohio State University criminologist Dr. Robin Engel will help develop a review methodology instead. A possible role for the city’s Independent Police Auditor remains subject to legal review.
The distinction matters: developing an audit method is not the same as completing an independent examination of the records.
What Virginia law requires
Virginia Code § 2.2-5517 restricts sharing of camera data and audit records, with specified exceptions. It also requires internal audits at least every 30 days.
The law generally requires captured data to be deleted after 21 days, with exceptions for ongoing investigations, prosecutions or civil actions. It prohibits using the system to interfere with lawful activities or track people based on protected speech.
For residents, the map answers where the cameras are. How independent oversight will work remains a separate question.
This is a developing story.
