SIGNALDATAInsights. For the People.
Preview
License-plate readers · New Hanover County

New Hanover County

Using license-plate readers · 2 agencies documented

← Statewide map
Alamance CountyAlexander CountyAlleghany CountyAnson CountyAshe CountyAvery CountyBeaufort CountyBertie CountyBladen CountyBrunswick CountyBuncombe CountyBurke CountyCabarrus CountyCaldwell CountyCamden CountyCarteret CountyCaswell CountyCatawba CountyChatham CountyCherokee CountyChowan CountyClay CountyCleveland CountyColumbus CountyCraven CountyCumberland CountyCurrituck CountyDare CountyDavidson CountyDavie CountyDuplin CountyDurham CountyEdgecombe CountyForsyth CountyFranklin CountyGaston CountyGates CountyGraham CountyGranville CountyGreene CountyGuilford CountyHalifax CountyHarnett CountyHaywood CountyHenderson CountyHertford CountyHoke CountyHyde CountyIredell CountyJackson CountyJohnston CountyJones CountyLee CountyLenoir CountyLincoln CountyMacon CountyMadison CountyMartin CountyMcDowell CountyMecklenburg CountyMitchell CountyMontgomery CountyMoore CountyNash CountyNew Hanover CountyNorthampton CountyOnslow CountyOrange CountyPamlico CountyPasquotank CountyPender CountyPerquimans CountyPerson CountyPitt CountyPolk CountyRandolph CountyRichmond CountyRobeson CountyRockingham CountyRowan CountyRutherford CountySampson CountyScotland CountyStanly CountyStokes CountySurry CountySwain CountyTransylvania CountyTyrrell CountyUnion CountyVance CountyWake CountyWarren CountyWashington CountyWatauga CountyWayne CountyWilkes CountyWilson CountyYadkin CountyYancey County

New Hanover County Sheriff's Office

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
20
Counts differ: WECT reported 28 leased Flock cameras (Aug. 4) and the sheriff described 28 plate-reader locations (Aug. 13 answers); WECT's Sept. 8 report and WHQR said the contract covered 20 readers. Eight Flock pan-tilt-zoom park cameras, which the sheriff says are not plate readers, were not part of the vote. Cameras in the county under the SBI's state program are separate.
Contract
Flock Safety: $219,000 total · Amount from the agreement obtained by WECT through a records request; WHQR described it as roughly a two-year contract. On Sept. 9, 2026 the county's finance chief asked Flock for a $53,571.43 refund for the remaining nine months. (WECT, June 1, 2026; WECT, Sept. 8, 2026; WHQR, Aug. 16, 2026; WECT, Sept. 21, 2026)
  1. June 1, 2026 The sheriff's office confirmed it has a Flock plate-reader contract worth $219,000, per an agreement WECT obtained through a records request. (WECT, June 1, 2026)
  2. Aug. 4, 2026 Records obtained by WECT showed deputies ran about 6,000 Flock searches from June 1 onward. The sheriff told county leaders the system does not use facial recognition and is not used for traffic enforcement; a spokesperson said searches labeled 'traffic infraction' were mislabeled. (WECT, Aug. 4, 2026)
  3. Aug. 13, 2026 In written answers to Commissioner Stephanie Walker, the sheriff said retention had been cut from 90 to 30 days, monthly internal search audits would be done, and six federal agencies had sharing agreements with the office, including the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. (WECT, Aug. 25, 2026)
  4. Sept. 8, 2026 At a special meeting, the Board of Commissioners voted 4-0 on Commissioner Dane Scalise's motion to cancel the Flock plate-reader contract; Commissioner Bill Rivenbark attended virtually and could not vote. The sheriff's office turned off the readers, removed employee access, disabled national sharing and notified the SBI it was ending its plate-reader agreement. Flock owns the cameras and is responsible for removing them. (WECT, Sept. 8, 2026; WWAY, Sept. 8, 2026; WECT, Sept. 16, 2026; WECT, Sept. 21, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Readers were switched off Sept. 8, 2026; their physical removal by Flock was not confirmed in the sources reviewed.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Wrightsville Beach Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
Count not found. WECT reported the county's Sept. 8 vote did not affect cameras run by the Wrightsville Beach, Kure Beach and Carolina Beach police departments.
  1. Sept. 8, 2026 The county commissioners' vote to cancel the sheriff's Flock contract did not cover plate readers run by the Wrightsville Beach police. (WECT, Sept. 8, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Vendor per WECT (Sept. 8, 2026) and Port City Daily (Sept. 24, 2026). No contract record found.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. 2015 Session Law 2015-190 added Article 3D to Chapter 20 of the General Statutes (G.S. 20-183.30 to 20-183.32), the state's rules for police use of automatic license plate readers. Later amendments came in 2021 and 2023. (North Carolina General Assembly, date not shown; North Carolina General Assembly, date not shown; North Carolina General Assembly, date not shown)
  2. 2015 Under G.S. 20-183.31, a state or local law enforcement agency must adopt a written plate-reader policy before its system goes live. The policy must cover the databases used, retention, sharing with other agencies, operator training, supervision, data security and access, audits at least once a year reported to the agency head, and use of systems the agency doesn't run. Data may be used only for law enforcement purposes and not to enforce traffic violations. (North Carolina General Assembly, date not shown)
  3. 2015 Under G.S. 20-183.32, captured plate data may be kept no longer than 90 days unless a sworn written preservation request or a state or federal search warrant applies; preserved data must be destroyed after one year unless the request is renewed. The data is confidential, not a public record, may be shared only with criminal justice officials for a legitimate law enforcement purpose on written request, and may not be sold. Hot lists must be updated every 24 hours or as soon as practicable. (North Carolina General Assembly, date not shown)
  4. 2023 Session Law 2023-151, Section 5, set up a pilot program letting NCDOT make agreements with the State Bureau of Investigation to place fixed plate readers on state-owned right-of-way. It also repealed G.S. 20-183.32A effective Jan. 1, 2024. Session Law 2024-43, Section 3, amended the pilot, which was set to expire July 1, 2026. (North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (filed with the N.C. General Assembly), April 7, 2026; North Carolina General Assembly, date not shown)
  5. July 2024 Flock Safety obtained the state license it needed in July 2024; the license runs through July 31, 2026, The News & Observer reported, citing the Department of Public Safety. (The News & Observer (republished by AOL; original URL not found), Aug. 12, 2024)
  6. Jan. 2025 The N.C. Association of Chiefs of Police and the N.C. Sheriffs' Association helped the SBI pick the first pilot agencies. Each agency signed a memorandum of understanding with the SBI and could choose its own vendor; cameras on state right-of-way need an NCDOT encroachment approval first. (North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (filed with the N.C. General Assembly), April 7, 2026)
  7. June 16, 2025 NCDOT approved the first encroachment agreements for plate readers in state right-of-way under the pilot. The first cameras went up July 20, 2025, installed by the Raleigh Police Department. (North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (filed with the N.C. General Assembly), April 7, 2026)
  8. April 7, 2026 The SBI's initial report to legislative oversight committees said 32 agencies (12 police departments, 19 sheriff's offices and the State Highway Patrol) had asked for 250 cameras on state right-of-way. As of March 15, 2026, 17 agencies had installed 140 camera locations, with 75 more pending, and no data had been kept longer than 90 days. The SBI asked for an extension to July 1, 2028, a statewide coordinator position, $225,000 a year for access to vendors' data (pilot agencies used four vendors) and grants for cameras at state entry points. (North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (filed with the N.C. General Assembly), April 7, 2026)
  9. July 7, 2026 The state budget, S.L. 2026-41 (Senate Bill 257), was signed. It made the SBI-NCDOT right-of-way plate-reader program permanent and requires the SBI to report on it each year to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety. Similar language had been in House Bill 206 but was removed before that bill passed. The ACLU of North Carolina opposed the provision. (UNC School of Government, North Carolina Criminal Law blog, July 27, 2026; The News & Observer (via GovTech / Tribune Content Agency), July 16, 2026)
  10. July 2026 An NCDOT spokesperson said the department does not install or run the cameras but can inspect them to confirm they sit in approved spots in the right-of-way. (The News & Observer (via GovTech / Tribune Content Agency), July 16, 2026)

State agencies

North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
Cameras
Count not documented
Administers the state right-of-way program: 140 camera locations installed by 17 agencies as of March 15, 2026.
  1. April 7, 2026 The SBI reported that its own investigators had used plate-reader data in homicide, drug and missing-person cases, and that pilot agencies used four vendors. (North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (filed with the N.C. General Assembly), April 7, 2026)
  2. July 7, 2026 The budget made the SBI's right-of-way program permanent and added an annual report to lawmakers. (UNC School of Government, North Carolina Criminal Law blog, July 27, 2026)

From agency records.