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License-plate readers · Boone

Boone

Using license-plate readers · 2 agencies documented

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Boone County Sheriff's Office

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
20
20 Flock devices, per LINK nky's records-based count (Aug. 2026). WCPO reported that 20 cameras were approved in June 2026.
Contract
Flock Safety: $198,000 · from June 2026 · approved by approved June 2026 (body not named in source) · Source does not say whether the amount is a yearly or total cost. (LINK nky, Aug. 4, 2026; WCPO 9, Aug. 26, 2026)
Sources
LINK nky, Aug. 4, 2026; WCPO 9, Aug. 26, 2026; WCPO 9, Sept. 10, 2026
  1. June 2026 The sheriff's office received approval for 20 Flock cameras. (WCPO 9, Aug. 26, 2026)
  2. Sept. 10, 2026 Florence said it would form a joint task force with the sheriff's office to review the technology and its data practices. (WCPO 9, Sept. 10, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • We found no report that the sheriff's office paused its own cameras.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Florence Police Department

Status
Use suspended
Vendors
Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions
Cameras
10
10 Flock Falcon cameras under a contract signed in September 2025 (LINK nky, Sept. 2026, and its records-based count). In 2024 the department also had two cruiser-mounted Vigilant readers through a regional program run by Cincinnati police (NKyTribune, July 2024).
Contract
Flock Safety: $69,100 · from Sept. 2025 · Source does not say whether the amount is a yearly or total cost. (LINK nky, Aug. 4, 2026; LINK nky, Sept. 10, 2026)
Sources
LINK nky, Aug. 4, 2026; LINK nky, Sept. 10, 2026; Northern Kentucky Tribune, July 15, 2024; WCPO 9, Sept. 10, 2026
  1. July 2024 Florence had two test Flock cameras and had ordered 10 more. It also used two cruiser-mounted Vigilant plate readers through a regional program run by Cincinnati police. (Northern Kentucky Tribune, July 15, 2024)
  2. Sept. 2025 The city signed a contract with Flock to buy and install 10 cameras. (LINK nky, Sept. 10, 2026)
  3. Sept. 10, 2026 Mayor Julie Metzger-Aubuchon announced that the Flock readers would be turned off during a review by a joint task force with the Boone County Sheriff's Office. She said the review was not prompted by any misuse by Florence police. (WCPO 9, Sept. 10, 2026; LINK nky, Sept. 10, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • We did not confirm whether the Vigilant cruiser readers are still in use.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. April 5, 2022 Flock Safety told Spectrum News it had 34 Kentucky customers, 14 of them law enforcement agencies, but declined to name them. At that time Kentucky had no law limiting how long plate-reader data could be kept. (Spectrum News 1, April 5, 2022)
  2. Feb. 28, 2024 Senate Bill 380 (Sen. Adrienne Southworth) was filed. It would have defined who may use plate readers, set privacy safeguards, and let Kentucky State Police run an annual review of ALPR users. It was sent to the Senate Transportation Committee on March 1, 2024, and went no further. (Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, March 1, 2024)
  3. Jan. 7, 2026 Rep. John Hodgson (R-Fisherville) filed House Bill 58 to regulate automated license plate readers. Spectrum News reported that a similar Hodgson bill had passed the House 90-1 in the 2025 session, but the Senate did not take it up. (Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, April 10, 2026; Spectrum News 1, Jan. 12, 2026)
  4. Jan. 14, 2026 Rep. T.J. Roberts (R-Burlington) filed House Bill 375. It would ban the use of plate readers, make a violation a Class D felony with a $10,000 fine, and allow civil suits. The bill was sent to the House Transportation Committee on Jan. 22, 2026, and saw no further action. (Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, Jan. 22, 2026)
  5. Feb. 11, 2026 The House Judiciary Committee approved a revised HB 58 without opposition. As approved by the committee, the bill capped retention at 90 days unless the data is needed as evidence, limited sharing to other law enforcement agencies and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, and required officers to visually confirm a plate match before a stop. (Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, April 10, 2026; Louisville Public Media / Kentucky Public Radio (via WKMS), Feb. 11, 2026)
  6. Feb. 18, 2026 The House passed HB 58 on an 89-9 vote. (Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, April 10, 2026)
  7. March 24, 2026 The Senate passed an amended HB 58 on a 34-3 vote. (Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, April 10, 2026)
  8. March 31, 2026 The House voted 70-19 to accept the Senate changes to HB 58 and sent the bill to the governor. (Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, April 10, 2026)
  9. April 10, 2026 Gov. Andy Beshear signed HB 58 (Acts Chapter 71). It adds a new section to KRS Chapter 189 that limits ALPR use and the use and sale of ALPR data, sets a 90-day retention cap with exceptions for investigations and evidence-preservation notices, and requires law enforcement agencies to adopt and publish an ALPR policy. It also sets up a Transportation Cabinet permit process for readers on highway rights-of-way, lets the Cabinet, its contractors, insurers and lenders collect ALPR data for specified purposes, and adds a penalty in KRS 189.990. (Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, April 10, 2026)
  10. July 15, 2026 HB 58 took effect statewide, according to LEX 18. Hodgson told the station the bill took four years to pass. (LEX 18, July 16, 2026)
  11. July 2026 U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said in a social media post that he planned a federal bill to cut funding to cities and police departments that use Flock cameras. No bill number or text was reported. (WBKO (story originated at WAVE), July 29, 2026)
  12. Sept. 3, 2026 The legislature's Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary heard testimony on plate readers from Flock Safety, the Kentucky Retail Federation, Elizabethtown Police Chief Jeremy Thompson, the ACLU and ACLU of Kentucky, and the Cato Institute. Written statements came from Axon, Motorola Solutions, the Kentucky Fraternal Order of Police and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. The ACLU of Kentucky asked governments to pause Flock contracts and order independent audits. (Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, Sept. 3, 2026; WUKY, Sept. 3, 2026; WKYT, Sept. 3, 2026; Kentucky State Fraternal Order of Police (via Kentucky LRC), Sept. 3, 2026)