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License-plate readers · Jefferson

Jefferson

Using license-plate readers · 3 agencies documented

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Louisville Metro Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
240
Deputy Chief Emily McKinley told Spectrum News in Feb. 2026 that LMPD had about 240 Flock plate-reader cameras running; a department spokesperson said 54 more were awaiting installation or activation. LMPD can also search more than 400 other cameras in Jefferson County put up by U of L, smaller cities, homeowner associations and businesses. Earlier counts: 123 council-district-owned cameras (Feb. 2023), and nearly 190 posted with about 100 more pending (Dec. 2025). LPM said in April 2026 that LMPD had more than 200 readers.
Contract
Flock Safety: $177,100 total · from Sept. 2024 · approved by Louisville Metro Council, 2024-09-05 (Districts 12 and 14, 28 Flock cameras; sponsors Rick Blackwell and Cindi Fowler) (Louisville Metro Government, Sept. 5, 2024)
Sources
Spectrum News 1, Feb. 20, 2023; Louisville Metro Government, Sept. 5, 2024; Louisville Public Media (KyCIR), Dec. 17, 2025; Spectrum News 1, Feb. 19, 2026; Office of the Kentucky Attorney General, Feb. 2, 2026; Louisville Public Media, April 28, 2026; Spectrum News 1, Sept. 18, 2026
  1. Sept. 5, 2024 Metro Council voted unanimously for $177,100 from Districts 12 and 14 to pay for 28 Flock cameras, 14 in each district. (Louisville Metro Government, Sept. 5, 2024)
  2. Dec. 2025 LPM reported that Metro Council had backed Mayor Craig Greenberg's request for more cameras in the fiscal 2026 budget and set aside $500,000 for them. The council vote date was not given. (Louisville Public Media (KyCIR), Dec. 17, 2025)
  3. Feb. 2026 Spectrum News reported in February 2026 that LMPD had added two-factor authentication for Flock and blocked immigration-related search terms. When the changes took effect was not reported. (Spectrum News 1, Feb. 19, 2026)
  4. Feb. 2, 2026 On Feb. 2, 2026, the Attorney General's office issued 26-ORD-034 in an open-records appeal by LPM reporter Morgan Watkins against Louisville Metro Government. LPM reported that Attorney General Russell Coleman sided with the city in February 2026, allowing it to keep Flock camera locations confidential. (Office of the Kentucky Attorney General, Feb. 2, 2026; Louisville Public Media, April 28, 2026)
  5. April 2026 Metro Council voted 20-4, with one member voting present, against an ordinance from J.P. Lyninger (D-6) that would have required the city to publish a map of the plate readers it owns or leases. The yes votes were Lyninger, Jennifer Chappell, Shameka Parrish-Wright and Betsy Ruhe. Tammy Hawkins voted present. (Louisville Public Media, April 28, 2026)
  6. Sept. 2026 In mid-September 2026 (reported Sept. 18), Chief Paul Humphrey announced changes to LMPD's plate-reader rules: new training standards, more documentation for each search, search access limited to designated users such as detectives and analysts, outside agencies required to request access through LMPD, and standardized audits. (Spectrum News 1, Sept. 18, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • LPM reports that LMPD has used Flock cameras since 2021.
  • Spectrum News reported a cost of about $3,000 per camera per year, with some older cameras on a lower rate, and about $1,000 to repair or replace a device.
  • LMPD declines to publish camera locations. It says disclosure would make the cameras less effective by helping people avoid them, and that moving cameras costs time and money, with permitting and installation that can take months.
  • April 2026 council vote: LPM gives only the weekday (Thursday). The meeting was probably April 23, 2026, but this has not been confirmed.

From agency records.

University of Louisville Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
14
U of L records given to KyCIR/LPM showed 14 plate readers run by campus police along a corridor from West Bloom St. south to Central Ave. (reported Jan. 2026).
Sources
Louisville Public Media (KyCIR), Jan. 13, 2026; Spectrum News 1, Feb. 19, 2026
  1. Jan. 2026 After KyCIR appealed the university's denial to the Attorney General, U of L released a spreadsheet and map of its plate-reader locations. The Attorney General then dismissed the appeal (reported Jan. 13, 2026). (Louisville Public Media (KyCIR), Jan. 13, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Spectrum News reported in Feb. 2026 that LMPD can search cameras installed by the University of Louisville.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Jeffersontown Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No count found.
Sources
Spectrum News 1, Feb. 19, 2026; Louisville Public Media (KyCIR), Dec. 17, 2025; Louisville Public Media (KyCIR), Jan. 13, 2026
  1. Feb. 2026 Spectrum News reported that LMPD can search plate-reader cameras installed by smaller cities including Jeffersontown, which are part of more than 400 shared cameras in the county. (Spectrum News 1, Feb. 19, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • KyCIR/LPM reported that Jeffersontown police provided camera location records when asked (Dec. 2025 and Jan. 2026).
  • Confidence is limited: the vendor is inferred from the shared Flock network LMPD uses, and no Jeffersontown contract or council record was found.

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)