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License-plate readers · Boone

Boone

Using license-plate readers · 2 agencies documented

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Columbia Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
KOMU (Oct. 7, 2024) said council documents showed at least 130 Flock cameras planned citywide, mixing plate readers, live-feed and pan/tilt/zoom units, 13 of them plate readers for Parks and Recreation. ABC17 News (Jan. 3, 2026) said 101 of 118 camera locations had been installed. The Columbia Missourian (2026) reported 114 plate readers, citing the department's Flock transparency portal. Count left blank pending direct confirmation.
Contract
Flock Safety: $539,400 one-time · from Oct. 2024 · to March 2027 · approved by Columbia City Council, 2024-10-07 (5-2) · Police Department first-year cost including installation; then $476,000 per year. Parks and Recreation portion: $45,450 first year, then $39,000 per year. KOMU (June 2026) reports the contract expires in March 2027. (KOMU 8, Oct. 7, 2024; KOMU 8, June 15, 2026)
  1. Oct. 7, 2024 The City Council approved a Flock Safety camera system for police and Parks and Recreation 5-2. Ward 3's Roy Lovelady and Ward 1's Valerie Carroll were the no votes; Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, Sixth Ward member Betsy Peters and Don Waterman voted yes. The council also unanimously passed an ordinance creating public notice and review for police surveillance technology. Under it, the police chief may adopt a technology-use policy within 180 days with the city manager's approval and must file an annual surveillance report with the council before March 15. (KOMU 8, Oct. 7, 2024; ABC17 News (KMIZ), Oct. 7, 2024; Columbia Missourian, date not shown)
  2. Jan. 2026 Police reported 101 of 118 planned Flock camera locations installed (about 86%), with delays blamed on permitting and hardware availability. (ABC17 News (KMIZ), Jan. 3, 2026)
  3. June 2026 The police department released its 2025 Annual Surveillance Technology Report: 5,521 Flock alerts in the first year (2,877 warrants, 1,452 stolen plates, 1,192 stolen vehicles), with arrests made in 69 of 217 tracked cases. The report lists 2025 costs of $584,850 and FY2026 costs of $515,000, says data is purged after 30 days and shared only with Missouri agencies, and reports no substantiated complaints in 2025. (KOMU 8, June 15, 2026)
  4. Sept. 2026 City Council voted unanimously to hold a public hearing on the Flock camera system, on a motion by council member Christina Hartman; no hearing date was set. Dated by month: the Columbia Missourian (via KBIA, Sept. 10, 2026) says the council met Tuesday. (Columbia Missourian (via KBIA), Sept. 10, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • KOMU reports the Flock contract expires in March 2027; KBIA/Missourian (Sept. 10, 2026) says renewal comes up in March.
  • In November 2022 the council rejected a different system, Fusus, 4-3, per ABC17 News (Oct. 7, 2024).

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

University of Missouri Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
Cameras
Count not documented
MUPD declined to give a count, citing safety (KBIA, Feb. 13, 2026).
  1. Feb. 2026 MUPD posted signs about license plate recognition cameras on campus; a spokesperson said the cameras are not part of Flock Safety and did not name the vendor. KBIA reported the cameras had been on campus about two years and that Columbia police cannot search MUPD's plate database. (KBIA, Feb. 13, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Vendor not disclosed; MUPD said only that the system is not Flock.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. 2024 SB 1334, sponsored by Sen. Bill Eigel in the 2024 session, proposed a new section 590.1100 RSMo barring state agencies and political subdivisions from buying, installing or using plate-reader systems or using captured plate data from public highways, except readers mounted on vehicles occupied by a peace officer and data captured by third-party vendors under sections 303.420 to 303.440. (Missouri Senate, date not shown)
  2. Jan. 2024 Sen. Mike Cierpiot (R-Lee's Summit) filed SB 1377 for the 2024 session to stop state agencies and local governments from buying, installing or operating automated license plate readers or collecting plate data from vehicles on public roads; readers on police vehicles and third-party data access for law enforcement were exempt. Missourinet reported March 4, 2024, that a Senate committee vote might come soon; the Post-Dispatch (via GovTech, Aug. 2024) later said the bill did not advance. (Missourinet, March 4, 2024; GovTech (republishing St. Louis Post-Dispatch), Aug. 12, 2024)
  3. Aug. 1, 2024 A state contract with Flock Safety covering 21 more license plate readers, worth $243,750, took effect Aug. 1, 2024, according to bidding documents cited by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The paper said the state's 2023 program put 43 readers in 11 mostly rural counties in mid-Missouri. The article quotes a Department of Public Safety spokesman but does not say which agency holds the contract. (GovTech (republishing St. Louis Post-Dispatch), Aug. 12, 2024)
  4. Jan. 8, 2025 HB 658, a 2025 bill from Rep. Jeff Vernetti (R-Camdenton) that KCUR described as a statewide ban on installing or using automated license plate readers, was prefiled Dec. 23, 2024, read the first time Jan. 8, 2025, read a second time Jan. 9, and referred to the House Emerging Issues committee May 15, 2025, its last action. Sen. Mike Moon filed a Senate version. (Missouri House of Representatives, date not shown; KCUR / The Midwest Newsroom, Sept. 23, 2026)
  5. Oct. 2, 2025 Gov. Mike Kehoe announced nearly $10 million in Blue Shield grants to 201 communities (60 counties, 137 cities, four towns); the governor's office said the awards include 151 license plate readers. Individual recipients were not listed in the release. (Office of Missouri Governor, Oct. 2, 2025)
  6. 2026 SB 1027 (Sen. Rick Brattin), filed in the 2026 session, proposed a new section 590.1000 RSMo barring state agencies and political subdivisions from buying, installing or using plate-reader systems on public highways, with exceptions for readers on vehicles occupied by peace officers and certain third-party vendor data. The legislature adjourned May 15, 2026 without passing it. (Missouri Senate, date not shown)
  7. Feb. 4, 2026 Rep. LaKeySha Bosley (D-St. Louis) introduced HB 3192, the Missouri Automatic License Plate Reader Regulation Act. It would limit police use to criminal investigations with reasonable suspicion and missing/endangered-person cases, bar general surveillance, immigration and civil code enforcement, require destruction of most data after 30 days, require reporting to the Highway Patrol starting Jan. 1, 2027, and make misuse a class A misdemeanor (class E felony for repeat offenses). It was read a second time Feb. 5 and referred to the Emerging Issues committee May 15, 2026; it never received a hearing. (Missouri House of Representatives, date not shown; Missouri House of Representatives, date not shown; Missouri House of Representatives, date not shown; KMOV (First Alert 4), Feb. 18, 2026; KCUR / The Midwest Newsroom, Sept. 23, 2026)
  8. Sept. 16, 2026 Gov. Mike Kehoe signed an executive order (Spectrum News refers to it as EO 26-18) putting temporary limits on plate readers used by state agencies and law enforcement that receives state money. In most cases plate and vehicle records have to be erased for good within 30 days; vendors cannot sell, pass along or profit from data gathered in Missouri; the readers may be used only for criminal-justice or life-saving work and cannot be paired with AI facial recognition; and misuse leads to discipline, a possible criminal referral and a report to the Public Safety director. Local departments were urged, not required, to follow the same practices. Kehoe framed the order as a temporary step until the legislature passes a law. (KY3, Sept. 16, 2026; St. Louis Public Radio, Sept. 16, 2026; Spectrum News, Sept. 16, 2026; Spectrum News, Oct. 1, 2026)
  9. Sept. 30, 2026 The Missouri Department of Public Safety released a 10-page guidance document for law enforcement as directed by the executive order. It recommends a documented law-enforcement purpose for every search, individual accountability for users, independent verification of alerts before enforcement, retention generally limited to 30 days, audits at least monthly, and no AI facial-recognition integration. DPS said it was working with chiefs, sheriffs and prosecutors on legislation for the next session. (KY3 / KCTV, Sept. 30, 2026; Spectrum News, Oct. 1, 2026)

State agencies

Missouri State Highway Patrol

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
6
KY3 (Sept. 16, 2026) reported the Patrol runs six Flock cameras, contracted through the Department of Public Safety, and already keeps data 30 days. Separately, a state Flock contract added 21 readers in 2024 after 43 were placed in 11 mid-Missouri counties in 2023 (Post-Dispatch via GovTech); that report does not name the operating agency.
Contract
Flock Safety: $243,750 term · from Aug. 1, 2024 · approved by Missouri Department of Public Safety (state contract; per bidding documents reported by St. Louis Post-Dispatch) · Covers 21 additional readers. The article does not name the operating agency; KCTV5 (Sept. 2026) reports the Patrol contracts for Flock cameras through DPS. (GovTech (republishing St. Louis Post-Dispatch), Aug. 12, 2024; KCTV5, Sept. 16, 2026)
  1. Sept. 16, 2026 KCTV5 and KY3 reported that the Patrol contracts for Flock cameras through the Department of Public Safety and uses them to track stolen cars. KY3 said the Patrol runs six cameras, already keeps data for 30 days, and did not have to make immediate changes under the governor's order. (KCTV5, Sept. 16, 2026; KY3, Sept. 16, 2026)
  2. Sept. 30, 2026 DPS issued statewide plate-reader guidance under the governor's executive order; DPS Director Mark James named the Patrol among the groups consulted. (Spectrum News, Oct. 1, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Hotlists on at least one St. Louis County Flock portal (Chesterfield) list MULES (MSHP) as a source; this reflects the Patrol's criminal-records network, not Patrol-owned cameras.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.