Journalist Kunle Falayi with the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO (VCIJ) has won the 2025 Excellence in Journalism Award from the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association for his coverage of Flock Security systems and the growth of government surveillance.
Kunle has doggedly followed the widespread police use and misuse of automatic license plate readers, those unremarkable security cameras perched along busy intersections that capture many of the daily commutes and grocery runs we make (Norfolk, for example, has almost 180 cameras, and more than 1,000 are spread across the state).
Kunle discovered that traffic data in tiny Bridgewater, Va., was captured and searched nearly 7 million times by police across the country. His work was also cited in a recent State Crime Commission report.
Kunle received the award recently at a ceremony held at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.
Congratulations, Kunle, on your outstanding work!