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License-plate readers · Oktibbeha County

Oktibbeha County

Using license-plate readers · 2 agencies documented

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Oktibbeha County Sheriff's Office

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
  1. March 2023 The office had one mobile plate reader (then under repair) and was seeking quotes, including from 365Labs, for three fixed readers after supervisors approved seeking a Homeland Security grant. (The Dispatch (Columbus), March 22, 2023)
  2. Sept. 2026 Capt. Brett Watson said the office does not specifically use Flock or Motorola cameras but that ALPR cameras exist in the county. (The Dispatch (Columbus), Sept. 1, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Supervisors' vote date from a weekday ('Monday night') in the March 22, 2023 article.
  • The 2026 statement does not say whether the office itself still operates any reader.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Starkville Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Motorola Solutions
Cameras
4
Four current Motorola ALPR cameras plus five newly approved, per Chief Mark Ballard, The Dispatch, Sept. 1, 2026.
Contract
Motorola Solutions: $27,500 total · from 2026 · Five new Motorola ALPR cameras approved at a recent budget meeting (date not given), per The Dispatch, Sept. 1, 2026. (The Dispatch (Columbus), Sept. 1, 2026)
  1. March 2023 Aldermen approved on the consent agenda the police department's request to apply for a Homeland Security grant of about $30,000 to buy three plate readers from American Integration Contractors. (The Dispatch (Columbus), March 22, 2023)
  2. Oct. 2023 WCBI reported the department had two working plate readers and a $30,000 Mississippi Homeland Security grant for three more. (WCBI, Oct. 18, 2023)
  3. May 2024 Police and IT staff proposed 41 cameras and eight license plate readers over two years at an aldermen work session; no vote was reported. (The Dispatch (Columbus), May 18, 2024)
  4. Sept. 2026 Chief Mark Ballard confirmed four Motorola ALPR cameras and five more approved for $27,500; Mayor Lynn Spruill said protocols are in place for appropriate use. (The Dispatch (Columbus), Sept. 1, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • 2023 consent-agenda vote date from a weekday ('Tuesday') in the March 22, 2023 article.
  • 2024 work session date from a weekday ('Friday') in the May 18, 2024 article.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

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.