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License-plate readers · Erie County

Erie County

Using license-plate readers · 4 agencies documented

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Buffalo Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Genetec, Flock Safety
Cameras
114
114 city cameras per a records request reported by Investigative Post (July 2026); Genetec system. Flock is used for search access only (two officers), not city-owned Flock cameras.
Contract
Genetec: $366,000 one purchase batch (14 intersections), paid with pandemic aid · network has grown since; most cameras grant-funded per the department (Investigative Post, July 17, 2026)
  1. July 17, 2026 Investigative Post reported Buffalo's readers are not connected to Flock's network and are visible only to city officers. Two specialized officers with Flock search access made over 3,800 searches in 17 months, and the city does not pay to search Flock. (Investigative Post, July 17, 2026)

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Town of Cheektowaga Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
31
31 Flock cameras per Investigative Post (July 2026)
Contract
Flock Safety: $25,000 per year, initial lease of 10 cameras from 2022 · from 2022 · current total cost not available (Investigative Post, July 17, 2026)
  1. June 2025 Per audit logs cited by StateScoop, a Cheektowaga officer searched a plate twice, logged as "WANTED" and "Wanted by ICE," a week after a Border Patrol agent ran it. (StateScoop, Aug. 25, 2026)
  2. July 17, 2026 Investigative Post reported Cheektowaga shares Flock data with 170 agencies and can search more than 600 networks. (Investigative Post, July 17, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Added beyond metro-first scope because of the immigration-search finding.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Town of Amherst Police Department

Status
Removing or limiting cameras
Vendors
Flock Safety, Axon
Cameras
17
17 Flock cameras; switching to 24 town-owned Axon cameras, per Investigative Post (July 2026)
Contract
Flock Safety: $60,000 per year, funded by state GIVE grant (Investigative Post, July 17, 2026)
Contract
Axon: $300,000 purchase, 24 cameras owned by the town · replacement for Flock (Investigative Post, July 17, 2026)
  1. July 17, 2026 Amherst police were moving from Flock to Axon readers, per Investigative Post. Flock data was shared with 114 New York departments. (Investigative Post, July 17, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Status 'reducing' reflects a vendor switch in progress; ALPR use continues.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Town of Tonawanda Police Department

Status
Removing or limiting cameras
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
13
13 Flock cameras per Investigative Post (July 2026)
Contract
Flock Safety: $45,000 total paid since early 2025 · from 2025 · department said it is ending the contract (Investigative Post, July 17, 2026)
  1. July 17, 2026 Capt. David Price said the department is ending its Flock contract, per Investigative Post. It had shared data with 65 departments. (Investigative Post, July 17, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Completion of the termination not confirmed.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. Jan. 2011 DCJS published suggested guidelines for operating license plate readers, written with an LPR advisory panel. They are advisory: agencies are urged to build their own protocols from them, and the model policy leaves the retention period blank for each agency to fill in. The document does not describe a state repository for scan data. (New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, Jan. 2011)
  2. Sept. 25, 2023 DCJS's Law Enforcement Technology (LETECH) request for applications listed fixed and mobile license plate readers as eligible purchases for agencies outside New York City. It set no LPR-specific conditions on retention, sharing or policy; the only model policy it linked was for body-worn cameras. Program size about $50,000,000. (New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, Sept. 25, 2023)
  3. May 13, 2024 Gov. Hochul announced $127 million in DCJS technology grants to 378 police and sheriff agencies outside New York City. License plate readers made up 22 percent of the funding, per the announcement (no dollar figure for LPRs stated). (Office of the Governor of New York, May 13, 2024)
  4. Jan. 8, 2025 A907 (Assembly, Paulin) and S963 (Senate, Hoylman-Sigal) introduced. They would have the Municipal Police Training Council write a minimum-standards ALPR policy covering uses, sharing, retention and training, to be posted by every state and local law enforcement agency. No retention period is set. A907A was amended March 4, 2026, reported April 21 and advanced to third reading April 23, 2026; the Senate site now lists S10419 as its companion. S963 has stayed in the Senate Consumer Protection Committee. Earlier versions date to 2015; the 2023-24 Assembly version passed the Assembly and died in the Senate. (New York State Senate (Open Legislation), Jan. 8, 2025; New York State Senate, Jan. 8, 2025)
  5. April 1, 2026 A10808 (Assemblymember Pamela Hunter) and its Senate companion S9890 (Sen. Michelle Hinchey, introduced April 13) introduced. They would limit government ALPR use to listed purposes, require deletion of plate data within 48 hours with exceptions, bar sharing outside New York State government except in listed cases, require a warrant for private plate data, and give a private right of action with $1,000 liquidated damages. Both remain in committee. (New York State Senate (Open Legislation), April 1, 2026; New York State Senate, April 13, 2026)
  6. May 15, 2026 S10419 (Sen. Kristen Gonzalez) introduced, a Senate version of the Municipal Police Training Council minimum-standards approach; referred to Consumer Protection. (New York State Senate, May 15, 2026)
  7. June 4, 2026 A563A (Paulin) / S10227 (Cooney) passed the Senate 60-0, having passed the Assembly Jan. 12, 2026. It requires non-law-enforcement and non-government users of ALPRs to adopt and post a policy based on a Department of State standard. It does not cover police. The legislature's site showed no delivery to the governor, signature or veto as of Oct. 17, 2026. (New York State Senate (Open Legislation), Jan. 8, 2025; New York State Senate, May 7, 2026)
  8. July 11, 2026 DCJS opened a new round of about $75 million in LETECH grants (part of a $100 million package) for agencies outside New York City, with license plate readers among eligible purchases, per Hoodline. Applications were due Sept. 2; contracts are expected to run Jan. 1, 2027 through Dec. 31, 2028. Spectrum News reported $100 million available this year. (Hoodline, July 11, 2026; Spectrum News 1, Aug. 10, 2026)
  9. Aug. 25, 2026 The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) and LatinoJustice PRLDEF released a report using Flock audit logs. It found New York officers had logged Flock searches with reasons such as "Immigration (civil/administrative)" or "Wanted by ICE." Nassau County police, Beacon, Glen Cove and Cheektowaga were named for explicit immigration-related searches. State Police, the New York State Intelligence Center and Lancaster police were named for search patterns the authors read as possible undisclosed immigration searches. Recommendations: a statewide 48-hour retention limit, search documentation sent to the Attorney General, searches limited to felonies, stolen vehicles and missing persons, and no sharing with ICE. (StateScoop, Aug. 25, 2026; Surveillance Technology Oversight Project and LatinoJustice PRLDEF, date not shown)
  10. Aug. 25, 2026 StateScoop reported that the state budget's Local Cops, Local Crimes Act bars local police from formal or informal arrangements to help federal immigration enforcement. It does not name license plate readers; the report's authors argue Flock searches done for ICE could fall under it. The S.T.O.P. report says the Attorney General's Office of Immigrant Trust enforces the law. (StateScoop, Aug. 25, 2026; Surveillance Technology Oversight Project and LatinoJustice PRLDEF, date not shown)
  11. Sept. 15, 2026 WCAX reported that New York has no state law governing ALPR use. North Country legislators from both parties (Assemblyman Michael Cashman, Sen. Dan Stec) said rules are needed. (WCAX, Sept. 15, 2026)
  12. Oct. 5, 2026 Sen. Chuck Schumer sent Flock Safety a letter asking who can search its network, how much vehicle data it holds and what prevents misuse, with answers requested by Oct. 16. No New York agency was named. (FingerLakes1.com, Oct. 5, 2026)

State agencies

New York State Police

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No camera count found; the only record is search activity on Flock's network
  1. March 24, 2025 Per Flock audit logs cited by S.T.O.P./LatinoJustice and StateScoop, a search at the New York State fusion center labeled with a DHS agent reference was followed about an hour later by a State Police officer's search of the same plate, logged as "Investigation." (StateScoop, Aug. 25, 2026; Surveillance Technology Oversight Project and LatinoJustice PRLDEF, date not shown)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Shows State Police users can search Flock's network. It does not show whether State Police own or lease ALPR cameras. No State Police ALPR policy or contract was found; FOIL needed.
  • StateScoop says Executive Order 170 bars state agencies from helping federal civil immigration enforcement, including through license plate readers.

Secondhand report; not yet confirmed with the agency.

New York State Intelligence Center (state fusion center)

Status
Program documented, current use unconfirmed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No camera count; search activity only
  1. March 24, 2025 Flock audit logs show a search at the fusion center labeled "SWB 25-03-01 DHS Agent," per StateScoop's account of the S.T.O.P. report. (StateScoop, Aug. 25, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Newburgh's police chief limited the state Crime Analysis Center's access to the city's Flock data on April 14, 2026 (see newburgh-police). The Crime Analysis Center network and the Intelligence Center are separate entities; this was not verified further.

Secondhand report; not yet confirmed with the agency.