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License-plate readers · Genesee County

Genesee County

Using license-plate readers · 2 agencies documented

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Genesee County Sheriff's Office

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
30
30 Flock cameras: 20 under contract plus 10 funded by a federal grant (WNEM, MLive, Feb. 2026).
Contract
Flock Safety: $60,000 · from Oct. 1, 2025 · to Sept. 2026 · Hardware/software for 20 cameras through September; the two-year contract auto-renewed Oct. 1, 2025 before the payment was authorized (MLive). The two-year renewal term runs past September 2026; ABC12 reported a 5-4 board vote in March 2026 on a $60,000 purchase order. (MLive (republished by GovTech), Feb. 6, 2026; WNEM TV5, Feb. 5, 2026; ABC12 (WJRT-TV), March 18, 2026)
Contract
Flock Safety: $30,000 · to July 2027 · Department of Homeland Security grant for 10 more cameras. (MLive (republished by GovTech), Feb. 6, 2026; WNEM TV5, Feb. 5, 2026)
  1. Feb. 4, 2026 Board of Commissioners postponed both Flock resolutions for a second time and sent them to a March 11 committee meeting. (MLive (republished by GovTech), Feb. 6, 2026; WNEM TV5, Feb. 5, 2026)
  2. March 2026 Board of Commissioners voted 5-4 on Flock cameras, per ABC12, which described renewing 10 existing cameras and a $60,000 purchase order for 20 more. (ABC12 (WJRT-TV), March 18, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Sheriff Chris Swanson and Capt. Jason Murphy support the cameras; county data is shared with other police but not with ICE (MLive).
  • ABC12's description of the March vote (10 renewed, 20 added) does not match the February framing (20 under contract, 10 grant-funded); March date given only as 'Wednesday night'.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Flint Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
62
62 Flock cameras in place per ABC12 (Oct. 2025); 36 more proposed.
Contract
Flock Safety: $68,750 total · from May 2021 · First 25 Flock Falcon cameras, bought by the police department (Flint Beat). (Flint Beat, Nov. 2021)
Contract
Flock Safety: $98,750 total · from Nov. 2021 · approved by Flint City Council (2021-11-15, 8-0) · 37 more Falcon cameras plus footage retention. (Flint Beat, Nov. 2021)
Contract
Flock Safety: $900,000 total (5 years) · from 2024 · to Dec. 2028 · approved by Flint City Council (2024-01) · $180,000 per year, plus $90,000 for late 2023. (ABC12 (WJRT-TV), Jan. 29, 2024)
  1. Nov. 15, 2021 City Council approved 37 Flock cameras 8-0. (Flint Beat, Nov. 2021)
  2. Jan. 22, 2024 City Council approved a Flock contract through 2028. (ABC12 (WJRT-TV), Jan. 29, 2024)
  3. Oct. 2025 Council Finance Committee approved adding 36 cameras, funded by a federal grant and the police budget. (ABC12 (WJRT-TV), Oct. 23, 2025)
  4. Oct. 27, 2025 Council meeting adjourned early before reaching a nearly $200,000 contract with Flock Group for 31 more cameras. (WNEM TV5, Oct. 27, 2025)
Conflicts and open questions
  • 2024-01-22 date inferred from ABC12's 'January 22' in a Jan. 29, 2024 article.
  • Final council action on the 2025 expansion not found.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. Jan. 30, 2026 Michigan has no state statute governing automated license plate readers, leaving rules on use and data sharing to local governments, Bridge Michigan reported; it counted at least 125 county or municipal agencies with Flock Safety contracts. (Bridge Michigan, Jan. 30, 2026)
  2. Jan. 29, 2026 Reps. Douglas Wozniak (R-Shelby Township) and Jimmie Wilson Jr. (D-Ypsilanti) introduced tie-barred House Bills 5492 and 5493, which would create a new act setting guidelines for plate reader systems. Both were referred to the House Judiciary Committee the same day; the Legislature's site lists no later committee or floor action. (Michigan Legislature, Jan. 29, 2026; Michigan Legislature, Jan. 29, 2026; Bridge Michigan, March 5, 2026)
  3. March 5, 2026 As described by Bridge Michigan, the House package would cap retention of plate reader data at 14 days, limit uses to listed purposes such as missing persons, stolen vehicles, warrants and criminal investigations, require public reports on use, and give drivers a path to legal recourse for misuse. (Bridge Michigan, March 5, 2026)
  4. April 22, 2026 The House Fiscal Agency issued a summary of HB 5492 and HB 5493 as introduced. (Michigan Legislature, Jan. 29, 2026; Michigan Legislature, Jan. 29, 2026)
  5. July 29, 2026 Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) introduced Senate Bill 1131, which is similar to the House bills but not a formal companion. It went to the Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety the same day, and no later action is listed. His office said it would require a warrant to search plate-reader data except during active criminal, missing-person or stolen-vehicle investigations, and would have unused data erased after 14 days. (Michigan Legislature, July 29, 2026; Office of State Sen. Jim Runestad, July 29, 2026; WWMT, July 30, 2026)
  6. July 27, 2026 Fifteen Democratic state lawmakers asked the Michigan Department of Transportation to end a maintenance memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Border Patrol Detroit Sector and Homeland Security Investigations covering plate readers, and to review surveillance deployments on state transportation property. MDOT said it was reviewing the letter and that law enforcement plate readers have been permitted along its trunklines for several years. (Michigan Advance, July 27, 2026)
  7. July 2026 MDOT said agencies placing a plate reader on an MDOT trunkline must agree to follow the Michigan State Police manual for license plate reader systems and commit that the data will not be used, sold or transferred for non-law-enforcement purposes. (Michigan Advance, July 27, 2026)
  8. Aug. 14, 2026 Flock Safety announced company-wide policy changes, reported in Michigan: default retention cut from 30 to 7 days (existing customers may keep their current period), an option for cities to choose which offenses allow outside agencies to search their data, and audit tools and case codes required for searches by year-end. WILX reported more than 180 Michigan law enforcement agencies use Flock cameras. (WILX, Aug. 14, 2026)
  9. Aug. 4, 2026 Michigan Public reported that more than 180 Michigan law enforcement agencies use the cameras. Ron Wiles of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police said some oversight may be warranted but cautioned against rules that would make the tool ineffective; an ACLU of Michigan policy strategist warned the data could be used to track sensitive personal information. (Michigan Public, Aug. 4, 2026)

State agencies

Michigan State Police

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
Cameras
Count not documented
MSP did not disclose how many freeway readers it installed in its 2023 metro Detroit pilot (WXYZ, Feb. 2023). No current count found.
  1. Jan. 30, 2023 MSP began installing plate readers along the Southfield Freeway and I-96 in metro Detroit as a pilot it said would later expand statewide; it said images would be kept 30 days and used for serious and violent crimes, not traffic enforcement. (WXYZ, Feb. 2, 2023; FOX 2 Detroit, Feb. 1, 2023)
  2. March 2023 MSP said readers were in use on freeways in several parts of the state and that it wanted to expand them. (WILX, March 6, 2023)
  3. June 20, 2023 MSP Procedure Manual 07-13, 'License Plate Reader Systems,' took effect. Under it MSP stores no historical plate data itself (the provider it subscribes to holds the data), MSP's agreements ask providers to keep data from MSP hardware no more than 30 days, every query must cite an incident number, and outside agencies can get data by written request to MSP supervisors with confirmation of an ongoing criminal investigation. (Michigan State Police (PowerDMS public), June 20, 2023)
  4. July 2026 MDOT said its permits for plate readers on state trunklines require agencies to comply with the MSP license plate reader manual. (Michigan Advance, July 27, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Vendor for MSP's own readers not named in any source opened; the manual refers only to the provider MSP subscribes to.
  • The newest source on MSP's own readers is from 2023, so current use is marked unconfirmed.
  • No Michigan Attorney General opinion or action on plate readers was found.

From agency records.