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License-plate readers · Butler County

Butler County

Using license-plate readers · 6 agencies documented

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Hamilton Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
At least 25 cameras, per WKRC (July 2026).
  1. Dec. 2022 City Council approved funding for the Flock cameras, according to council minutes cited by WKRC. (WKRC Local 12, July 28, 2026)
  2. July 2026 On the day two of its cameras were cut down in late July, the city issued a statement saying it would keep using plate readers in a way consistent with its values. (WVXU (via WYSU), Aug. 19, 2026)
  3. Aug. 19, 2026 Residents protested outside City Hall asking the city to remove the cameras; the cameras keep data 30 days. (FOX19, Aug. 19, 2026; WVXU (via WYSU), Aug. 19, 2026)

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Middletown Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
30
30 cameras in June 2025, with 12 more and a mobile trailer funded by a grant.
Contract
Flock Safety: $61,000 year (year 1 paid by state grant; city to pay $61,000 in years 2 and 3) · from 2025 · 12 cameras at $3,000/year each plus a mobile trailer at $25,000/year, funded by a 2025 State Violent Crime Reduction grant from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services. (Journal-News, June 9, 2025)
  1. June 2025 Police received a $61,000 state grant for 12 more Flock cameras and a mobile trailer, adding to 30 cameras in use. (Journal-News, June 9, 2025)

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

West Chester Township Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
32
32 installed by December 2022; WKRC listed 32 in June 2026.
Contract
Flock Safety: $86,000 year · from 2022 · Paid with TIF money and asset forfeiture funds; in 2023 police recommended a five-year lease to lock in $2,500 per camera instead of $3,000. (WCPO 9, Dec. 6, 2022; WCPO 9, Oct. 18, 2023)
  1. Dec. 2022 Police said 32 Flock cameras had been installed around the township at a cost of $86,000 a year; officers had used cruiser-mounted readers for years before that. (WCPO 9, Dec. 6, 2022)
  2. Oct. 2023 Police said the cameras had led to nearly a dozen arrests in their first seven months and that they hoped to grow to about 40; ODOT approved the department's permit request for five cameras in June 2023. (WCPO 9, Oct. 18, 2023)
  3. June 2026 WKRC listed West Chester Township among local Flock users with 32 cameras. (WKRC Local 12, June 26, 2026)

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Oxford Police Department

Status
Ended or removed
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
14
  1. Aug. 2026 City Council voted 6-1 to end the police department's Flock contract, despite a police-community review commission recommendation to keep it with added limits (cutting the agencies with access from 2,215 to surrounding counties). (WVXU (via WYSU), Aug. 19, 2026; The Ohio Newsroom (via WYSU), Sept. 2, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The vote is dated to the month: the Aug. 19, 2026 article says only 'Tuesday night.'

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Trenton Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
11
  1. 2026 Chief Patrick Carr presented to City Council on the 11 cameras, saying the department was limiting outside access, shortening data storage and requiring an offense type for searches. (WCPO 9, Sept. 7, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The council meeting date is not given; the article is dated Sept. 7, 2026, so the presentation was on or before then.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Butler County Sheriff's Office

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
10
10 cameras planned for Liberty Township (which contracts with the sheriff for policing); no countywide count found.
Contract
Flock Safety: $30,000 year (approx.) · from 2026 · Cost added to Liberty Township's monthly payments to the sheriff's office. (WCPO 9 / Journal-News, Feb. 24, 2026)
  1. Feb. 2026 Liberty Township said it would add 10 Flock cameras, to be installed by early spring, under its policing contract with the sheriff's office; footage is deleted every 30 days. (WCPO 9 / Journal-News, Feb. 24, 2026)

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. 2022 The state's Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program awarded $11.7 million to 24 law enforcement agencies in its 10th round. One recipient, the Marion County Sheriff's Office ($502,605), budgeted part of its share for Flock plate-reader cameras. (The Marion Star (via Yahoo News), April 6, 2023)
  2. Nov. 20, 2023 Columbus approved a two-year lease of 32 fixed and 8 quick-deploy plate readers through a state term contract; the request form attached to the ordinance identifies them as Flock cameras. The $275,200.01 cost was paid from a 2022 American Rescue Plan grant administered by the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services. A second OCJS grant, the "FY24 Columbus LPR Project," paid for a $228,000 Flock lease approved in December 2024. (Columbus City Council (Legistar), Nov. 22, 2023; Columbus City Council (Legistar), Dec. 11, 2024)
  3. Nov. 2025 The Ohio State Highway Patrol confirmed it contracts with Flock Safety, at $90,000 a year according to Cleveland Scene. A Patrol spokesperson said the system helps troopers recover stolen cars, track down suspects and act on missing- or endangered-person alerts. Scene did not report how many cameras the Patrol has or how long it keeps the data. (Cleveland Scene, Nov. 13, 2025)
  4. March 3, 2026 Rep. K. Miller introduced House Bill 725. It would make it a first-degree misdemeanor to knowingly collect, use, sell or share data from automated license plate recognition systems for commercial purposes. Law enforcement use, transfers between public entities and public-records disclosures are exempt. (Ohio Legislative Service Commission, March 10, 2026)
  5. May 11, 2026 Gov. Mike DeWine named Public Safety Director Andy Wilson as interim attorney general through the end of 2026. Dave Yost had announced on May 7 that he would resign effective June 7. (Cleveland19 (WOIO), May 11, 2026)
  6. July 22, 2026 Signal Ohio reported that several state agencies pay for Flock access or cameras. Its figures: the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction paid $171,000 in 2025 and $213,500 in 2026; the Attorney General's Office paid $30,000 in 2023 and $75,000 in 2025; the Department of Youth Services paid about $50,000 over two years; the Fire Marshal's investigation bureau, which uses five cameras plus the Flock network, paid $21,000 in 2025; and the Bureau of Workers' Compensation paid $24,000. The Department of Public Safety also contracts with Flock, but no amount was given. (Signal Ohio, July 22, 2026)
  7. Sept. 2026 Four state representatives, Tristan Rader, Levi Dean, Darnell Brewer and Justin Pizzulli, wrote to Transportation Director Pamela Boratyn. They asked ODOT to stop issuing permits for plate readers in state rights-of-way, to review or revoke existing permits, and to disclose how many it has approved. ODOT runs an online portal where local police apply for these permits. A spokesperson said the department was reviewing the request. (Ohio Capital Journal, Sept. 10, 2026; NBC4 WCMH-TV, Sept. 4, 2026)
  8. Sept. 2026 Four Republican-sponsored bills were introduced. Senate Bill 469 (Sen. Al Cutrona) would require deletion of plate-reader data after 10 days, a search warrant for sharing with other government agencies, monthly audits, annual reports to the Attorney General, and a 500-foot buffer around places of worship and gun stores. House Bill 1009 (Reps. Newman and Willis) would make personal misuse of the data a felony. House Bill 1010 (Rep. Levi Dean) would generally bar government use of such cameras without a warrant. House Bill 1011 (Rep. Gary Click) would limit use for one year to set categories of cases. (News 5 Cleveland (WEWS), Sept. 9, 2026; cleveland.com / Government Technology, Sept. 22, 2026; Statehouse News Bureau (WOSU), Sept. 17, 2026)
  9. Sept. 16, 2026 Interim Attorney General Andy Wilson asked lawmakers to make plate-reader misuse a crime and to bar anyone who misuses the data from serving as a peace officer. He also called for required audits and a data-retention limit of no more than 30 days, and he opposed outright bans. (Cleveland19 (WOIO), Sept. 16, 2026; Statehouse News Bureau (WOSU), Sept. 17, 2026)

State agencies

Ohio State Highway Patrol (Ohio Department of Public Safety)

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No camera count found
Contract
Flock Safety: $90,000 year · As reported by Cleveland Scene; no contract document was seen (Cleveland Scene, Nov. 13, 2025)
  1. Nov. 2025 A Patrol spokesperson confirmed a Flock contract, which Cleveland Scene put at $90,000 a year. The spokesperson said the system helps troopers recover stolen cars, track down suspects and act on missing- or endangered-person alerts. (Cleveland Scene, Nov. 13, 2025)
  2. July 2026 Signal Ohio listed the Ohio Department of Public Safety among state agencies that contract with Flock, without giving an amount. (Signal Ohio, July 22, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • No camera count, contract dates or retention period were found. A public-records request (ORC 149.43) to ODPS would be needed for the contract and Patrol policy.
  • Andy Wilson directed ODPS from December 2022 until his May 2026 appointment as interim attorney general.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Ohio Attorney General's Office (Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission)

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
  1. July 2026 Per Signal Ohio, the office paid Flock $30,000 in 2023 and $75,000 in 2025. It said its Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission uses the technology in drug and human-trafficking investigations. (Signal Ohio, July 22, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Payments are as reported by Signal Ohio. Whether the office owns cameras or only has network access was not stated.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
  1. July 2026 Per Signal Ohio, ODRC uses Flock cameras against contraband and other crime at state prisons. It paid $171,000 in 2025 and $213,500 in 2026. (Signal Ohio, July 22, 2026)

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Ohio Department of Youth Services

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
  1. July 2026 Per Signal Ohio, DYS uses Flock cameras to investigate crime and prevent contraband at juvenile facilities and paid about $50,000 over the past two years. (Signal Ohio, July 22, 2026)

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Ohio State Fire Marshal, Fire and Explosion Investigation Bureau (Department of Commerce)

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
5
Five cameras, per Signal Ohio
  1. July 2026 Per Signal Ohio, the bureau uses the Flock network and five cameras in fire and explosion investigations. It paid $21,000 last year. (Signal Ohio, July 22, 2026)

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
  1. July 2026 Per Signal Ohio, BWC paid Flock $24,000 last year for use in fraud investigations. (Signal Ohio, July 22, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The Signal Ohio article's year-by-year BWC figures are internally inconsistent ($24,000 'last year' and in 2025; $6,000 in each of two prior years). Only the $24,000 figure is used here.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.