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License-plate readers · Forrest County

Forrest County

Using license-plate readers · 2 agencies documented

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Hattiesburg Police Department

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Project NOLA (community camera network with license plate recognition)
  1. Jan. 2020 Hattiesburg City Council voted 4-1 to approve an agreement with Project NOLA for a camera program whose cameras include license plate recognition. Businesses or residents requesting a camera pay an installation fee of up to $475 and $240 a year. (Hub City Spokes, Jan. 23, 2020)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Vote date from a weekday ('Tuesday's meeting') in the Jan. 23, 2020 article; likely Jan. 21, 2020.
  • A proposal for about 10 city-paid cameras needed separate council approval; whether it passed was not found.
  • WDAM (Feb. 22, 2017) reported Hattiesburg police used a $40,000 state grant for a plate-reader trailer with two cameras, with all data going to the state Office of Homeland Security.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

University of Southern Mississippi Parking and Transit Services

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
  1. Aug. 1, 2026 USM's parking rules for 2026-27, in effect Aug. 1, 2026, say plate-recognition cameras are used across university property to enforce parking and control access, and that parking permits are virtual and linked to registered plates. (University of Southern Mississippi, Parking and Transit Services, Aug. 1, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • This is parking enforcement, not university police. The regulations say LPR data is based on day, time and location.
  • A closed BidNet solicitation for campus LPR equipment (Genetec AutoVu with T2 Flex) names no agency, so it is not attributed to USM.

From agency records.

Statewide

  1. 2009 Mississippi's 2009 traffic-camera law, signed by Gov. Haley Barbour, bars counties and cities from installing cameras that automatically detect traffic violations; it passed the Senate 42-9 and the House 111-9. It does not expressly say whether cameras held by officers are covered. A 2025 bill, SB 2201, would have amended that law at Miss. Code Ann. § 17-25-19. (Magnolia Tribune (republished by Clarke County Tribune), Jan. 23, 2025)
  2. Feb. 22, 2017 WDAM reported that, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Mississippi was not among the 12 states with plate-reader-specific laws. NCSL's current state-statutes page lists Mississippi as "No statute identified." (WDAM 7, Feb. 22, 2017; National Conference of State Legislatures, date not shown)
  3. Oct. 18, 2023 The Mississippi Department of Homeland Security awarded Starkville police a $30,000 grant to buy three more license plate readers, adding to two already in use, WCBI reported. (WCBI, Oct. 18, 2023)
  4. May 21, 2024 In an opinion to Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, the Attorney General's office said state law does not expressly bar municipalities from using automatic license plate readers to verify motor vehicle insurance, that Department of Public Safety insurance-verification data may go to private entities if DPS authorizes it, and declined to opine on fee splits. The opinion does not address retention of reader data. (Mississippi Attorney General's Office, May 21, 2024)
  5. 2025 SB 2430 (Sen. Seymour, 2025) would bar counties and cities from using automated recording equipment that photographs rear plates to enforce motor vehicle liability insurance and require removal of such systems by Oct. 1, 2025; it has no retention or sharing provisions. Final status was not confirmed from an opened page. (Mississippi Legislature, Jan. 2025)
  6. 2025 HB 1709 (Rep. Holloway, 2025) proposed a $430,000 appropriation to the City of Carthage for its police department, including $325,000 for crime-prevention programs such as buying, installing and running license plate readers and live cameras. Whether it passed was not confirmed. (Mississippi Legislature, 2025)
  7. Jan. 2025 Two 2025 bills addressed officer-operated traffic cameras: SB 2201 (Sen. Joey Fillingane) would extend § 17-25-19 to manually operated recording equipment, and HB 1090 (Rep. Charles Blackwell) would require officers using such equipment to verify who was driving. The report followed Moss Point and Hattiesburg agreeing in fall 2024 to let officers use handheld radar cameras. (Magnolia Tribune (republished by Clarke County Tribune), Jan. 23, 2025)
  8. Jan. 10, 2025 HB 528 (Rep. Massengill) would have amended § 17-25-19 to bar camera or plate-recognition traffic enforcement by cities and counties, allowed police-owned mobile plate readers under conditions (a published written policy covering retention and sharing, annual audits, no stop on a reader hit alone, use limited to law-enforcement purposes), and required indefinite logs of who accessed data. It was referred to Judiciary B on Jan. 10, 2025, and died in committee Feb. 4, 2025. (Mississippi Legislature, Jan. 2025; Plural Policy (Open States legislative data), date not shown)
  9. 2026 A resident-started online petition seeks a statewide ban on license plate readers and Flock cameras in Mississippi and had more than 200 signatures, RHCJC News reported. (Mississippi Free Press (republishing RHCJC News, CC BY 4.0), Oct. 1, 2026)

State agencies

Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Office of Homeland Security

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
Cameras
19
19 fixed plate readers statewide, per WDAM's Feb. 22, 2017 report; no newer count found.
  1. Feb. 22, 2017 WDAM reported the office operated 19 fixed plate readers around the state and purged data after 180 days. It also reported that a Hattiesburg police reader trailer bought with a $40,000 state grant would send data to the office. (WDAM 7, Feb. 22, 2017)
  2. Oct. 2023 WCBI reported Starkville police had received a $30,000 state homeland security grant to buy plate readers and planned to add three to the two it already ran. (WCBI, Oct. 18, 2023)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Status unconfirmed: no source within the last 12 months shows the fixed readers still in use.
  • WDAM named Vigilant Solutions only in connection with Lamar County, not this office, so vendor is unspecified.
  • Grant-making to local agencies is recorded as context; local recipients are leads for regional researchers.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Mississippi Highway Patrol

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
Cameras
3
Three mobile plate readers, per WDAM's Feb. 22, 2017 report; no newer count found.
  1. Feb. 22, 2017 WDAM reported the Highway Patrol had three mobile plate readers and followed Department of Public Safety retention policy. (WDAM 7, Feb. 22, 2017)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Nothing found from the last 12 months on MHP reader use, contracts or I-55/I-20 cameras.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.