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License-plate readers · Jefferson County

Jefferson County

Using license-plate readers · 8 agencies documented

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Bessemer Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No count found.
Sources
WBRC, Sept. 4, 2026
  1. Sept. 2026 Bessemer officers used their own Flock system after an alert about a vehicle sought by Moody police to locate it on I-20/59 and set up a perimeter. WBRC said this happened on a Tuesday before its Sept. 4 story; exact date not given. (WBRC, Sept. 4, 2026)

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Birmingham Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No plate-reader-only count found. Inside Climate News (Aug. 2026) reported the 2025 Alabama Power contract covers 100 cameras and license plate readers, added to 330 cameras approved the year before; the figures mix video cameras and plate readers.
Contract
Alabama Power: $9.7 million total · from July 8, 2025 · approved by City Council (BirminghamWatch, July 8, 2025; WBRC, July 8, 2025)
Sources
ABC 33/40 (WBMA), Dec. 16, 2025; ABC 33/40 (WBMA), July 28, 2026; BirminghamWatch, July 8, 2025; Inside Climate News, Aug. 29, 2026; WBRC, Sept. 9, 2020; WBRC, July 8, 2025
  1. Sept. 2020 City council members announced 10 more Flock plate-recognition cameras for higher-crime areas, at a cost WBRC put at a little over $2,000 a month. Exact approval date not reported. (WBRC, Sept. 9, 2020)
  2. July 8, 2025 After postponing the item on July 1 over cost questions, the City Council approved an amended camera agreement with Alabama Power covering public-safety cameras and plate readers on Alabama Power poles that feed the police Real Time Crime Center. BirminghamWatch reported a $9.7 million total, more than $4 million of it from a U.S. Justice Department grant, as a 20-month extension; WBRC described the contract growing from about $5 million to almost $10 million. (BirminghamWatch, July 8, 2025; WBRC, July 8, 2025)
  3. Dec. 16, 2025 The City Council authorized a right-of-way encroachment agreement for four Flock devices (two plate readers and two pan-tilt-zoom cameras) in the area the report calls the Rockford neighborhood. ABC 33/40 said the vote was 'Tuesday'; its story ran Dec. 16. (ABC 33/40 (WBMA), Dec. 16, 2025)
  4. July 2026 Deputy Chief Rodarius Mauldin told reporters each Flock search must be tied to an offense, users are trained, and searches are audited every 30 days. (ABC 33/40 (WBMA), July 28, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Alabama Power installs and maintains the cameras on its poles under the city contract; Flock is the vendor named in Dec. 2025 coverage. Inside Climate News reported city officials said the 2025 agreement fell under a public-safety exception to the state bid law.
  • Dec. 2025 event date is inferred from 'Tuesday' and the article date.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Homewood Police Department

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No count reported.
Contract
Flock Safety: $12,500 year · approved by City Council (The Homewood Star, Nov. 24, 2021)
Sources
The Homewood Star, Nov. 24, 2021
  1. Nov. 2021 The City Council approved a Flock camera purchase: $13,750 in fiscal 2022 and $12,500 a year afterward; exact vote date not reported. (The Homewood Star, Nov. 24, 2021)
Conflicts and open questions
  • $13,750 was the first-year (FY2022) cost; later years quoted at $12,500 per year. Nothing found after 2021.
  • First-year (fiscal 2022) cost was $13,750, then $12,500 a year (The Homewood Star).

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Hoover Police Department

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
WBRC (June 2024) reported the city would have more than 100 cameras across 50 square miles after 10 more were added; not an LPR-only count and not confirmed since.
Sources
WBRC, June 18, 2024
  1. June 2024 The City Council approved a partnership with Alabama Power to put 10 more Flock cameras on Alabama Power poles in the right of way; WBRC reported the city keeps ownership of the recordings. Exact vote date and cost not reported. (WBRC, June 18, 2024)
Conflicts and open questions
  • No Hoover-specific ALPR item found from Nov. 2025 onward in this round, though a 2024 network of 100+ cameras makes current use likely; a records request should settle status.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No sheriff-owned count. The city of Center Point, which the sheriff's office patrols, began installing 40 Flock cameras in mid-2020 (WBRC, Aug. 2020).
Sources
WBRC, Aug. 6, 2020
  1. Aug. 2020 WBRC reported Center Point had begun installing 40 Flock cameras a couple of months earlier and wanted at least 10 more; the sheriff's office, which patrols the city, said the cameras helped recover two stolen cars in one day. (WBRC, Aug. 6, 2020)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Nothing found after 2020 tying the sheriff's office to its own ALPR program.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Trussville Police Department

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
20
20 Flock cameras, per Cahaba Sun (July 2022).
Sources
Cahaba Sun, July 27, 2022
  1. 2019 Cahaba Sun reported the city's camera and data program dates to a 2019 City Council approval. (Cahaba Sun, July 27, 2022)
  2. July 2022 Chief Eric Rush said the department had 20 Flock cameras and could query more than 800 shared cameras. (Cahaba Sun, July 27, 2022)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Nothing found from Nov. 2025 onward.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

UAB Police Department

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
12
12 plate readers around the downtown campus approved by the Birmingham City Council (WBRC, Sept. 2023); installed count not confirmed.
Sources
WBRC, Sept. 3, 2023; WBRC, Oct. 30, 2023
  1. Sept. 2023 The Birmingham City Council approved 12 Flock plate readers around UAB's downtown campus; UAB and its police department operate and pay for them. Exact vote date not reported. (WBRC, Sept. 3, 2023)
  2. Oct. 2023 UAB Police Chief Daryl Green described the new Flock system as giving officers real-time information. (WBRC, Oct. 30, 2023)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Nothing found after Oct. 2023.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Vestavia Hills Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
Cameras
Count not documented
No count found.
Sources
ABC 33/40 (WBMA), Aug. 26, 2019; ABC 33/40 (WBMA), May 19, 2026
  1. Aug. 2019 ABC 33/40 reported the city was expected to approve plate-reader technology at a Monday council meeting; the outcome was not reported. (ABC 33/40 (WBMA), Aug. 26, 2019)
  2. May 2026 Police said they used license plate reader technology in a vehicle-fraud investigation announced May 19, 2026 (vendor not named). (ABC 33/40 (WBMA), May 19, 2026)

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. May 22, 2020 ALDOT opened comment on rules allowing police plate readers on state rights-of-way; Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) said he would file legislation to limit government use. (BirminghamWatch (from Alabama Daily News), May 22, 2020)
  2. April 15, 2021 SB2 (2021), Orr's bill limiting law enforcement plate-reader use, setting confidentiality, destruction of data and criminal penalties, was amended in Senate Judiciary; it passed the Senate but died in the House. NBC 15 reported it would have required destruction after 30 months. (LegiScan, April 15, 2021; WSFA via WBRC, Aug. 27, 2026; NBC 15 (WPMI), Aug. 24, 2026)
  3. March 17, 2022 Alabama Justice Information Commission rules (Ala. Admin. Code ch. 265-X-6, authority Code of Ala. §41-9-620) took effect: plate-reader data only for criminal justice or public safety purposes; moved to an agency-controlled repository within 24 hours; access and dissemination logs; written public agency policy required before use; retention no more than five years unless tied to an active case (with ALEA notice); vendors must sign an ALEA CJIS security agreement; ALEA audits at least every three years, with access suspended after 90 days of noncompliance; plate, time, location and ORI to go to a State LPR Registry within 48 hours once ALEA establishes it. (Alabama Administrative Code (Alabama Justice Information Commission), March 17, 2022)
  4. Feb. 1, 2023 ALDOT permit requirement for public safety sensors on its right-of-way took full effect; unpermitted devices became removable encroachments. (Alabama Department of Transportation, Jan. 1, 2023)
  5. 2026 The Alabama Sheriffs Association posted support for Flock and similar plate readers, saying agencies should have policies to protect the data (FOX10, Aug. 2, 2026; exact post date not given). FOX10 (Aug. 2, 2026) said the post went up that week. (FOX10 (WALA), Aug. 2, 2026)
  6. Aug. 24, 2026 Sen. Arthur Orr said he plans a 2027 bill: shorter retention (six months to a year), a warrant to access data with emergency exceptions, and tougher penalties for misuse. Later (Sept. 3) he said a statewide ban, stricter limits (retention from two weeks or 30 days up to a year; law-enforcement-only access), or the status quo were options, and called ALDOT's rules minimal. Sen. Robert Stewart (D-Selma) also backs changes. Prefiled bills expected after the Nov. 3, 2026 election; session begins in February 2027. (NBC 15 (WPMI), Aug. 24, 2026; WSFA via WBRC, Aug. 27, 2026; ABC 33/40, Sept. 3, 2026)
  7. Sept. 1, 2026 Rep. Rick Rehm (R-District 85) floated a full ban or tighter data rules; Sen. Donnie Chesteen said the Senate will likely take up the issue early in the session. Gov. Kay Ivey's office had not responded. (WTVY (via FOX10), Sept. 1, 2026)
  8. Sept. 18, 2026 Spectrum News reported no specific Alabama statute governs plate readers and cited an Alabama Policy Institute estimate of close to 2,800 Flock cameras in the state. (Spectrum News, Sept. 18, 2026)
  9. Sept. 22, 2026 ALDOT records obtained by WPMI/ABC 33/40 showed 872 public-safety sensors approved on state rights-of-way statewide; records did not show retention, access, vendor or safeguards. (ABC 33/40, Sept. 22, 2026)

State agencies

Alabama Department of Transportation

Status
Checked: no program found
Vendors
Cameras
Count not documented
Permitting authority; no source shows ALDOT operating plate readers. ABC 33/40 (Sept. 22, 2026) reported ALDOT records show 872 public-safety sensors approved for other agencies on state rights-of-way (430 in central Alabama).
Sources
ABC 33/40, Sept. 22, 2026; Alabama Department of Transportation, Jan. 1, 2023; Alabama Department of Transportation, Sept. 3, 2026; Alabama Department of Transportation, Oct. 31, 2026; BirminghamWatch (from Alabama Daily News), May 22, 2020
  1. May 22, 2020 ALDOT proposed rules letting city, county and state law enforcement place plate readers and other 'public safety sensors' on its rights-of-way; three-year permits, no fee, use limited to law enforcement/public safety, no monetizing data; comments due May 29, 2020. (BirminghamWatch (from Alabama Daily News), May 22, 2020)
  2. Feb. 1, 2023 Unpermitted sensors on ALDOT right-of-way without a submitted application became unlawful encroachments subject to removal (deadline to apply Jan. 31, 2023). Applicants need an ORI and an ALEA CJIS vendor verification permit for each LPR vendor. (Alabama Department of Transportation, Jan. 1, 2023)
  3. Sept. 3, 2026 Active-application list updated; in this region it shows approved LPR permits for Gulf Shores PD and Pine Hill PD and pending LPR applications for Atmore, Brewton, Grove Hill, Semmes and Spanish Fort police. (Alabama Department of Transportation, Sept. 3, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • ALDOT's permit page links ALEA/AJIC rule chapter 265-X-6. The FAQ sets no retention period.

From agency records.

Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (CJIS Division)

Status
Checked: no program found
Vendors
Cameras
Count not documented
No source found showing ALEA operates its own readers. Under AJIC rule chapter 265-X-6 the ALEA CJIS Division is to keep a State LPR Registry, audit capturing agencies at least every three years and report each year to the commission; vendors must sign an ALEA CJIS security agreement. ALDOT's permit FAQ requires an ALEA CJIS vendor verification permit for each LPR vendor. In 2020 ALEA said it had no plans to use ALDOT property for sensors.
Sources
Alabama Administrative Code (Alabama Justice Information Commission), March 17, 2022; Alabama Department of Transportation, Jan. 1, 2023; BirminghamWatch (from Alabama Daily News), May 22, 2020
  1. March 17, 2022 AJIC rule chapter 265-X-6 took effect, giving ALEA CJIS the registry, audit and annual-report duties. (Alabama Administrative Code (Alabama Justice Information Commission), March 17, 2022)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Whether the State LPR Registry has been established is not known (records request).

From agency records.