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License-plate readers · Ingham County

Ingham County

Using license-plate readers · 2 agencies documented

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Lansing Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
26
26 cameras at seven locations per WKAR (Aug. 25, 2026); Lansing City Pulse reports seven camera locations.
Contract
Flock Safety: · from 2024 · Cameras installed starting in 2024, mainly on the north side, partly with grant money (City Pulse). About a year and a half remained on the agreement as of September 2026, per the mayor (Spectrum News). Amount, term and approving body not found. (Lansing City Pulse, Aug. 25, 2026; Spectrum News, Sept. 29, 2026)
  1. 2023 City accepted a $239,000 grant aimed at reducing motor vehicle thefts; WLNS reports part of it could go toward costs such as Flock cameras. (WLNS 6 News, Aug. 20, 2026)
  2. 2024 Flock cameras installed at intersections, mostly on the north side, partly grant-funded. (Lansing City Pulse, Aug. 25, 2026; Lansing City Pulse, Aug. 25, 2026)
  3. Aug. 24, 2026 City Council passed a non-binding resolution 7-1 asking the administration and police to terminate all Flock contracts and to avoid new AI-assisted plate-reader agreements without public engagement, a privacy impact assessment and data policies. Introduced by Councilmember Ryan Kost; Council President Peter Spadafore was the lone no vote. (WKAR Public Media, Aug. 25, 2026; Lansing City Pulse, Aug. 25, 2026; WILX, Aug. 24, 2026)
  4. Sept. 2026 Spectrum News reported that Mayor Andy Schor has said about a year and a half remains on the Flock agreement and that the city cannot leave it on its own. (Spectrum News, Sept. 29, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Per WILX, Lansing police keep plate data 30 days (policy allows 90) and review audit logs quarterly; Chief Rob Backus said federal agencies cannot access the system.
  • Ingham County Sheriff's Office told WILX (May 2026) it operates no Flock cameras but can access Lansing's data if needed.
  • Resolution did not itself cancel the contract; no termination by the administration found as of Oct. 27, 2026.
  • 2023 grant event dated only to the year in the source.
  • Spectrum News (Sept. 29, 2026) does not say when the mayor made the statement.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

East Lansing Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
1
One mobile Flock trailer camera (East Lansing Info, March 2026).
  1. March 2026 East Lansing police put one mobile Flock trailer camera into service, per East Lansing Info. (East Lansing Info, March 24, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Later reporting on search logs, data sharing and a September 2026 policy change could not be verified this round.

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.