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License-plate readers · Richmond County

Richmond County

Using license-plate readers · 1 agency documented

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Richmond County Sheriff's Office

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
Nearly 200 Flock cameras in the county, per WRDW (Sept. 4, 2026); the chief deputy put the count at nearly 170 in October 2023, when the office was seeking 50 more with a grant. The sheriff's office polices consolidated Augusta-Richmond County.
Contract
Flock Safety: $300,000 one-time (reported as more than $300,000) · approved by Augusta Commission Nov. 2022 · The commission approved more than $300,000 for more plate-reading cameras for the sheriff's office in November 2022 (WRDW). An Augusta Press column reported the vote was 8-2 and the money came from leftover American Rescue Plan funds. Exact meeting date not confirmed. (WRDW, Nov. 17, 2022; The Augusta Press, Nov. 6, 2022)
  1. 2021 Flock cameras were first installed in Richmond County in 2021, according to the sheriff's office. (WRDW/WAGT, Oct. 17, 2023)
  2. May 9, 2022 Date of the sheriff's office policy titled "License Plate Reader Systems," which covers Flock and in-car readers. It requires individual accounts, training, a legitimate law-enforcement purpose, and at least annual sample audits, and generally keeps data for two years. (WRDW/WAGT, Sept. 4, 2026)
  3. Oct. 2023 Chief Deputy Patrick Clayton said the county had nearly 170 Flock cameras and was waiting on grant money for 50 more. (WRDW/WAGT, Oct. 17, 2023)
  4. June 25, 2026 A routine audit on June 25 flagged a deputy's Flock activity. Investigators said he ran repeated searches on at least one plate over 28 days for personal reasons; he was charged with violation of oath of office and an LPR data offense, booked and fired, according to the sheriff's office. (WRDW/WAGT, Sept. 4, 2026; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 18, 2026)
  5. July 2026 Three more employees (a lieutenant, an investigator and a deputy) were charged with misuse of license plate readers and violation of oath of office, booked and fired after investigators said they searched plates for personal reasons. (WRDW/WAGT, July 20, 2026; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Aug. 9, 2026)
  6. Sept. 4, 2026 At a Sept. 4 news conference, Sheriff Eugene Brantley said about 330 deputies previously had access and that searches now must be tied to a case number, a reason and the officer's badge number. WRDW reported that six employees had been arrested and fired over alleged Flock misuse in a little over two months. Brantley has said the good outweighs the bad. (WRDW/WAGT, Sept. 4, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Before September 2026 the policy did not require supervisor pre-approval for searches and required a case number only when one existed (WRDW).
  • Event date for the six-employee total is the Sept. 4, 2026 news conference; two of the six (an investigator and a deputy) are described in that report without an arrest date.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. May 8, 2018 Gov. Nathan Deal signed House Bill 79 (Act 452), which passed the House 169-2 and the Senate 47-0 and took effect July 1, 2018. It added a Title 35 code section limiting how long police may keep plate-reader data, allowing agencies to share it, setting penalties for misuse and requiring policies. (LegiScan, May 8, 2018)
  2. July 1, 2018 Under O.C.G.A. 35-1-22, police may collect plate-reader data but may access it only for a law enforcement purpose, defined as investigating an offense or activity an agency has started. Data must be destroyed within 30 months unless it is tied to a toll violation or needed for a law enforcement purpose. Agencies may share data with each other and may hire a company to hold it. Each agency must keep a use and training policy. Misuse is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, and the data is exempt from the Open Records Act. (FindLaw, March 28, 2024; National Conference of State Legislatures, Sept. 28, 2026; Georgia General Assembly, 2018)
  3. July 1, 2018 The Department of Public Safety's plate-reader policy 6.09, in the version revised July 1, 2018, limits use to law enforcement purposes, names the Criminal Interdiction Unit commander as LPR administrator, requires officers to verify a hit before a traffic stop, logs data shared with other agencies, and purges data after 30 months unless it involves a toll violation or an investigation. It also covers readers owned by the State Road and Tollway Authority for HOT-lane enforcement. (Georgia Department of Public Safety, July 1, 2018)
  4. Oct. 16, 2024 GDOT guidance took effect for police plate readers on state routes and interstates. Agencies apply for a single permit per jurisdiction, renewed every three years. The guidance sets spacing limits (generally one reader per direction per 2 miles of state route in a city, one per direction between interstate interchanges, plus extras at city or county lines). The requesting agency signs a concurrence letter promising to make the data available to the wider law enforcement community at no cost and sends it through the Department of Public Safety. GDOT will revoke the permit if the data stops being available. (Georgia Department of Transportation, Oct. 16, 2024; Georgia Department of Transportation, Oct. 3, 2024; Georgia Department of Transportation, date not shown)
  5. Feb. 24, 2026 Attorney General Chris Carr led 19 states in an amicus brief asking the 11th Circuit to reject a Fourth Amendment challenge to police plate readers in Schemel v. City of Marco Island, Florida. The brief cites Georgia examples from the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, Statesboro, DeKalb County and Lawrenceville police. (Georgia Attorney General's Office, Feb. 24, 2026; WSB-TV, Feb. 25, 2026)
  6. July 6, 2026 The GBI arrested five former Albany police officers on charges of misusing license plate data and violating their oath of office, after Albany police asked for an investigation following an internal Flock audit. More GBI arrests over plate-reader searches followed that summer, including a Conyers police dispatch supervisor on July 22 and four former Savannah police employees (announced Aug. 21). In each case the local department asked for the investigation after its own audit. (Georgia Bureau of Investigation, July 6, 2026; Georgia Bureau of Investigation, July 23, 2026; Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Aug. 21, 2026; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 9, 2026)
  7. Aug. 25, 2026 State Sen. John Albers (R-Roswell), chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee, said a task force formed by the Georgia Sheriffs' Association and the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police was reviewing misuse cases and agency policies with Flock Safety and would report before the 2027 session. He did not commit to legislation. The review covers only cameras run by law enforcement. (Atlanta News First (via WTOC), Aug. 25, 2026)

State agencies

Georgia State Patrol (Department of Public Safety)

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
Cameras
Count not documented
65 mobile readers in 2018 (WSB-TV); no current count found.
  1. 2018 WSB-TV reported that the State Patrol had 65 mobile plate readers statewide and scanned 42,416,383 plates in 2017, plus 274,617 on May 1-2, 2018. (WSB-TV / The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2018)
  2. July 1, 2018 DPS policy 6.09 set the rules for the agency's plate readers: law enforcement use only, a 30-month purge, logged sharing with other agencies under a written agreement, and rules for SRTA toll-lane readers. (Georgia Department of Public Safety, July 1, 2018)
  3. Oct. 16, 2024 Under GDOT's plate-reader guidance, local requests to put readers on state rights of way go through DPS first. The DPS LPR coordinator is responsible for making sure data from permitted readers is available to the wider law enforcement community. (Georgia Department of Transportation, Oct. 16, 2024)
Conflicts and open questions
  • No current State Patrol plate-reader contract, vendor or count was found. Status is unconfirmed because the only documented use of its own readers dates to 2018. Open Records request needed for DPS LPR inventory, contracts and HIDTA agreement.

From agency records.

State Road and Tollway Authority

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
Cameras
Count not documented
No count found.
  1. July 1, 2018 DPS policy says SRTA owns plate readers used for HOT-lane enforcement under an MoU with DPS. Troopers using SRTA readers must use SRTA software, and SRTA stores that data. (Georgia Department of Public Safety, July 1, 2018)
  2. June 8, 2026 Clayton County police's plate-reader SOP says SRTA keeps its own toll-related plate-reader data through Peach Pass. (Clayton County Police Department (PowerDMS), June 8, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Toll-enforcement readers. The state law exempts data tied to a toll violation from the 30-month destruction rule.

From agency records.