Surveilling the Commonwealth: An Analysis of Surveillance Technology Proliferation in Virginia

Automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras and gunshot detection system (GDS) technology represent rapidly expanding forms of surveillance. Despite their prevalence, empirical literature regarding these tools remains limited, particularly concerning their geographic distribution across the United States. This study addresses this gap by conducting a geospatial analysis of crowdsourced ALPR and GDS locations throughout Virginia. Utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS), we mapped the concentrations of this technology and analyzed the racial demographic profiles of the most heavily surveilled communities. Our results identify distinct clusters of surveillance technology hubs across Virginia. In these high-intensity areas, surveillance technology is frequently concentrated in and around communities of color. These findings carry an array of implications, including the risk that over-surveilled neighborhoods may disproportionately suffer from the abuse or misuse of these tools. Furthermore, this distribution reflects a historical legacy within the criminal justice system of disproportionately monitoring marginalized populations. The limitations of this analysis are equally revealing: the reliance on crowdsourced data due to a lack of verifiable, publicly accessible coordinates underscores an ongoing lack of transparency.