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License-plate readers · Bernalillo County

Bernalillo County

Using license-plate readers · 2 agencies documented

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Albuquerque Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Genetec
Cameras
250
KOB (Dec. 2025) and the Journal (Feb. 2026) say more than 250. The Journal in Dec. 2023 reported 70 to 80. KOB (Aug. 2026) also describes readers on patrol cars and city trash trucks, and about 800 to 900 patrol cars with dash cams that have readers. Treat 250 as a floor for fixed units.
  1. Dec. 4, 2023 The City Council adopted a resolution sponsored by Councilor Renee Grout allowing APD to keep reader data for one year. Council President Pat Davis and Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn voted no. (Albuquerque Journal, Dec. 20, 2023)
  2. Dec. 2, 2025 APD said its readers, with other changes, contributed to a 42% drop in auto thefts in 2025 compared with 2024. Deputy Chief George Vega cited 227 arrests. (KOB, Dec. 2, 2025)
  3. Jan. 29, 2026 Maj. Anthony Montano told a Senate committee APD supported SB 40. (Albuquerque Journal, Feb. 1, 2026)
  4. Aug. 18, 2026 Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos told KOB that APD does not use Flock and that the data is "not available to other agencies." APD says data is stored for one year. APD credits readers, ShotSpotter and detective work in 14 homicides solved so far in 2026; KOB notes two are sealed and one listed case is from 2025. (KOB, Aug. 18, 2026)
  5. Aug. 28, 2026 The Journal reported that APD uses Genetec rather than Flock for plate readers. (KUNM (republishing Albuquerque Journal), Aug. 28, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Conflict on sharing: Chief Medina said in Dec. 2025 he believed data was shared within APD and with State Police; Gallegos said in Aug. 2026 it is not available to other agencies. Not resolved.
  • Conflict on prior retention: the Journal gave two weeks (Dec. 2023) and 60 days (Feb. 2026) as the pre-2023 limit. It also says APD now stores data for more than one year; KOB and others say one year.
  • Genetec was called one of the city's vendors in 2023; no current contract was opened.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Axon, Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
Journal via KUNM (Aug. 28, 2026): 21 Flock cameras across contracts, of which 5 were plate readers and 16 speed cameras. KUNM (July 2025) reported 5 plate readers. No count of Axon units has been published.
Contract
Flock Safety: $15,000 term · to Oct. 2026 · Plate-reader contract for five cameras; the report gives an October expiration and does not state the billing period. (KUNM (republishing Albuquerque Journal), Aug. 28, 2026)
  1. Aug. 20, 2026 Sheriff John Allen said in a video that he was canceling one of the office's three Flock contracts and was still deciding on the other two. (KOB, Aug. 20, 2026)
  2. Aug. 28, 2026 The Journal reported Allen was canceling all three Flock contracts: plate readers, speed cameras and gunshot detection ($116,000). The 16 speed cameras ($56,000) were to stay on as speed cameras only. Allen cited data safeguards and cameras being cut down or destroyed without timely notice. "It's the vendor I have a problem with," he said. (KUNM (republishing Albuquerque Journal), Aug. 28, 2026)
  3. Sept. 8, 2026 The office said it had shifted away from Flock plate readers and would expand with Axon, adding fixed options to its existing Fleet 3 mobile readers. It said it controls retention and sharing, with sharing off by default. (KRQE News 13, Sept. 8, 2026; The Paper / nm.news, Sept. 8, 2026)
  4. Sept. 8, 2026 Allen said the expanded system is targeted for before the end of 2026, pending contracting and training, and that retention would stay within 30 to 60 days. He said no deputies have been disciplined for misusing plate data. (The Paper / nm.news, Sept. 8, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Status active reflects Axon Fleet 3 mobile readers, reported in Sept. 2026; the office says it has shifted away from Flock plate readers and The Paper says the network is being dismantled. Physical removal of all units is not confirmed.
  • Possible conflict: The Paper says Allen ended contracts for 21 regional Flock cameras; the Journal says 16 of the 21 stay as speed cameras.
  • Retention has been reported as 30 days. Audits were described as at least quarterly (Journal via KUNM).

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. July 30, 2025 The Legislature's interim Science, Technology and Telecommunications Committee heard testimony on plate readers and recommended exploring legislation on statewide guidelines. KUNM reports the discussion took place on a Wednesday; the date is derived from its July 31 publication. (KUNM, July 31, 2025)
  2. Jan. 15, 2026 Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, filed the Driver Privacy and Safety Act with Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, as co-sponsor, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. It became Senate Bill 40. (Santa Fe New Mexican, Jan. 15, 2026; New Mexico Legislature, 2026; BillTrack50, March 4, 2026)
  3. Jan. 29, 2026 The Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee advanced SB 40 by a 6-4 vote. KOB and the Journal report Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed. The Journal gives the day as Thursday; date derived from its Feb. 1 publication. (Albuquerque Journal, Feb. 1, 2026; KOB, Feb. 3, 2026)
  4. Feb. 3, 2026 KOB reported that public records it obtained show immigration-related searches of New Mexico police plate databases from Texas, Iowa, North Dakota and South Carolina. It also reported that the Albuquerque police, New Mexico State Police and Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen supported SB 40. (KOB, Feb. 3, 2026)
  5. Feb. 12, 2026 The Senate passed SB 40 by a 32-8 vote, according to a release on nmsenate.com. (nmsenate.com, Feb. 12, 2026)
  6. Feb. 17, 2026 The ACLU of New Mexico said in a Feb. 17 press release that the House gave final legislative approval and the bill went to the governor. (ACLU of New Mexico, Feb. 17, 2026)
  7. March 4, 2026 SB 40 was signed by the governor as Chapter 20, per BillTrack50's record of the last action. (BillTrack50, March 4, 2026)
  8. July 1, 2026 The Driver Privacy and Safety Act took effect. As described by KOB, it bars sharing plate data for immigration enforcement, with out-of-state agencies investigating abortion access, and with non-law-enforcement agencies. (KOB, July 1, 2026)
  9. July 1, 2026 The Senate Judiciary Committee substitute (the version opened; the enrolled text could not be opened) makes plate data confidential and not a public record, requires a written declaration from out-of-state recipients, has agencies report annually to the Department of Public Safety by April 1 with aggregated publication by July 1, and allows a civil penalty of $10,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater, for each intentional violation. The attorney general, district attorneys and DPS may enforce it. (New Mexico Legislature, 2026)
  10. July 1, 2026 Los Alamos County says the act requires annual reporting to the Department of Public Safety and treats reader data as confidential and outside the state public records law. The Senate release also describes annual reports and confidentiality. (Los Alamos Daily Post (Los Alamos County release), date not shown; nmsenate.com, Feb. 12, 2026)
  11. July 6, 2026 Daniel Williams of the ACLU of New Mexico told KRWG that data was misused before SB 40 passed, saying agencies around the country reached New Mexico data thousands of times "in the previous year" with search terms like immigration, ICE and HSI. He said the ACLU does not oppose the readers outright. (KRWG, July 6, 2026)
  12. Sept. 8, 2026 Sheriff John Allen said he plans to seek statewide retention standards in the 2027 session. Wirth had said in January he intended to pursue a storage limit in the 60-day session. (The Paper / nm.news, Sept. 8, 2026; Santa Fe New Mexican, Jan. 15, 2026)

State agencies

New Mexico State Police (Department of Public Safety)

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
Cameras
Count not documented
A 2024 opinion piece by two state representatives says 20 units were deployed; no current count opened. No count published in the sources opened. Taos County Manager Brent Jaramillo said he believes the state installed Axon Outpost readers at U.S. 64 and 285 in Tres Piedras but does not know for certain (Taos News, Aug. 19, 2026).
  1. Oct. 2023 The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that State Police had plate-reading technology in place, with a department rule that most of what it captures be erased every 10 days. (The Santa Fe New Mexican, Oct. 2023)
  2. Aug. 1, 2024 Reps. Jenifer Jones and Luis Terrazas wrote in an opinion piece that State Police put 20 plate-reader units into service that month. They wrote that they had jointly secured $320,000 for police technology that includes such readers; the piece does not say that money bought these units. (Grant County Beat, Aug. 1, 2024)
  3. July 2025 KUNM reported State Police used readers to arrest a suspect in a fatal shooting at the University of New Mexico. The story, dated July 31, 2025, places this in the prior week. (KUNM, July 31, 2025)
  4. Dec. 2, 2025 KOB reported that State Police share plate data with many organizations and responded to its request for data-sharing audits. APD Chief Harold Medina said he believed APD's data was shared only within APD and with State Police. (KOB, Dec. 2, 2025)
  5. Feb. 3, 2026 KOB reported State Police supported SB 40. (KOB, Feb. 3, 2026)
  6. Aug. 4, 2026 The Taos County Commission was scheduled to take up a state memorandum for Department of Public Safety readers on roadway lighting fixtures at sites the state transportation department approves, with the county paying added electricity. The commission tabled it, with no date set to return, and the Taos News reported installation does not depend on the county signing. (The Taos News, Aug. 2026; The Taos News, Aug. 19, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Active rests on KOB reporting in December 2025 on current sharing; no contract, vendor or current count found.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.