The Road to Mass Surveillance
A talk on the AI license plate reader cameras now on Newport News streets, with Dr. Steven Keener, director of the Center for Crime, Equity, and Justice Research and Policy at Christopher Newport University. Hosted with YDSA at CNU and DeFlock 757. Everyone is welcome.
- When
- Tuesday 17 November, 6 PM
- Where
- Luter Hall, Room 121Christopher Newport University, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Newport News. New room: the first flyers said McMurran Hall, Room 216.
- Speaker
- Dr. Steven KeenerResearches criminal justice policy, the effects of incarceration, and mental health in the justice system
Luter Hall is on the north side of the Great Lawn
Park in the visitor lot, Lot B, beside the Trible Library. Walk west between the library and Christopher Newport Hall; Luter Hall is the next building on your right, and its main doors face the lawn. It's about four minutes on foot.
From I-64, exit 258A
Take exit 258A, J. Clyde Morris Boulevard (US 17 South), toward CNU and the Mariners' Museum. Follow it about two and a half miles to Warwick Boulevard and go straight across onto Avenue of the Arts.
For the parking deck, take the first right. For Lot B, stay on Avenue of the Arts to the traffic circle and take University Place toward the Trible Library; the lot is on the library's far side, toward Warwick.
Lot B is the visitor lot
Use the spaces signed “Visitor Parking.” Faculty spaces share the same pavement, and they and the student lots need a CNU decal even in the evening. If Lot B is full, CNU also sends visitors to the parking deck behind the Ferguson Center, about eight minutes' walk, and to Lot A beside it.
CNU says every visitor must register to park on campus, with Parking Services or University Police. Parking Services closes at 5 PM, so for a 6 PM talk that means University Police: (757) 594-7777.
HRT 106 and 107, Warwick & Sweetbriar
Both routes stop on Warwick Boulevard at Sweetbriar Drive, by Lot B, about seven minutes' walk from Luter Hall. Scheduled times at that stop on Tuesday 17 November:
| Direction | Arrive | Leave |
|---|---|---|
| From and to the Newport News Transit Center | 106 5:10 107 4:39, 5:39 | 106 7:02, 8:02, 9:02 107 7:45, 8:42, 9:42 |
| From and to Fort Eustis (106) and Patrick Henry Mall (107) | 106 5:07 107 4:47, 5:47 | 106 7:07, 8:05, 9:05 107 7:36, 8:36, 9:36 |
Buses toward the Transit Center stop on the campus side of Warwick. Buses toward Fort Eustis and Patrick Henry Mall stop across the road; cross Warwick at Sweetbriar Drive. Check live times in HRT's app or at gohrt.com.
Lot B to Room 121
From Lot B, walk west between the Trible Library on your left and Christopher Newport Hall on your right. Luter Hall is the next building on the right; its main doors face the lawn. Under a quarter of a mile.
From the parking deck, take the path north beside Avenue of the Arts to the library, then follow the path past the library's west side, across the lawn, to Luter's main doors. About a third of a mile. Questions about access, or anything else about getting there? Email us.
The truth about AI plate-reader cameras
Dr. Keener directs CNU's Center for Crime, Equity, and Justice Research and Policy and teaches in its Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology. His research is criminal justice policy, the effects of incarceration, and where mental health meets the justice system. He holds a Ph.D. in public policy and administration and an M.S. in criminal justice from VCU.
Newport News runs 89 Flock plate readers, and 2,490 cameras are wired into or registered with its police crime center. Council has never voted on any Flock, Fusus or drone contract. The numbers, the votes and who decided are all on this site, with their sources.
Can't make it? Email us and we'll tell you about the next one.
- Christopher Newport University, Parking Services: visitor parking in Lot B, the parking deck and Lot A; registration with Parking Services or University Police; office hours 8 AM to 5 PM weekdays; directions from I-64 (checked 3 Nov 2026). Parking Regulations Manual: Lot B restricted to visitors at all hours, decal required in student and faculty lots during evening open parking, University Police (757) 594-7777. Campus map, updated December 2025: Luter Hall, Christopher Newport Hall, the Great Lawn, Lots B and C1.
- CNU, Steven T. Keener, faculty page (checked 3 Nov 2026): director of the Center for Crime, Equity, and Justice Research and Policy; research, teaching and degrees.
- Hampton Roads Transit, published schedule data (GTFS, service from 25 Oct 2026, retrieved 3 Nov 2026): weekday times for routes 106 and 107 at stops 2647 and 2761, Warwick & Sweetbriar.
- Maps, walking routes and distances: our drawing of OpenStreetMap data (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), retrieved 3 Nov 2026, including the I-64 exit numbers; Luter Hall's main entrance retrieved 5 Nov 2026. Walking times assume an easy pace of 75 metres a minute.
- Camera counts and council votes: the home page and votes page, each with its own sources.
