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License-plate readers · Deschutes

Deschutes

Using license-plate readers · 4 agencies documented

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Bend Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Axon
Cameras
Count not documented
About 70 patrol cars carry Axon Fleet 3 dash cameras with ALPR, in use since July 2023 (The Source, May and June 2026; May article says 'more than 70'). The four fixed Flock cameras on Highway 97 were turned off Jan. 8, 2026.
Contract
Flock Safety: $19,900 total · from May 2025 · to May 2026 (The Source Weekly (Bend), Jan. 8, 2026; KTVZ, Jan. 8, 2026)
Contract
Flock Safety: $4,100 total · from July 2025 · to May 2026 · approved by Amendment replacing six Falcon cameras with four Falcon Long Range cameras; total paid to Flock $24,000 (The Source Weekly (Bend), Jan. 8, 2026)
Contract
Axon: $679,500 total · from 2022 · approved by Bend City Council, 2022 (five-year contract covering in-vehicle ALPR, body cameras and Tasers) (The Source Weekly (Bend), May 20, 2026)
Sources
The Source Weekly (Bend), May 20, 2026; The Source Weekly (Bend), June 29, 2026; OPB, Jan. 8, 2026
  1. June 2025 Federal immigration authorities ran 279 queries of Bend's Flock data; the department attributed this to a national lookup setting left on by default through user error. Bend later limited sharing to Oregon agencies. (The Source Weekly (Bend), May 20, 2026; OPB, Jan. 8, 2026)
  2. June 4, 2025 Four fixed Flock cameras began operating at two Highway 97 intersections under a one-year grant-funded pilot. (The Source Weekly (Bend), May 20, 2026; The Source Weekly (Bend), Jan. 8, 2026; KTVZ, Jan. 8, 2026)
  3. Dec. 2025 Mayor Melanie Kebler said Bend shares Flock data only with other Oregon local police agencies for investigations, not outside Oregon or with federal agencies; a police spokesperson said photos are purged after 30 days unless used as evidence. (The Source Weekly (Bend), Dec. 9, 2025; OPB, Jan. 8, 2026)
  4. Jan. 7, 2026 City council voted unanimously to turn off the Flock cameras and not renew the contract. (OPB, Jan. 8, 2026; The Source Weekly (Bend), Jan. 8, 2026)
  5. Jan. 8, 2026 The city turned off all four Flock cameras and said they would be uninstalled. (KTVZ, Jan. 8, 2026; OPB, Jan. 8, 2026)
  6. May 2026 The department published an expanded ALPR policy (Policy 428): hot-list data not tied to an investigation deleted after eight days, aggregated plate data after 30 days; no sharing or sale to third parties; bars use for federal immigration enforcement, surveillance of First Amendment activity, or out-of-state abortion investigations. (The Source Weekly (Bend), June 29, 2026)
  7. May 1, 2026 The city manager's May 1 report said police had won a $19,000 state Criminal Justice Commission grant for plate readers aimed at retail theft, and would test two Axon trial units before installing fixed cameras in phases on roads into and out of the city. (City of Bend, May 1, 2026)
  8. May 20, 2026 Mayor Melanie Kebler said the public would be able to comment before the council votes on an Axon contract add-on for fixed cameras. (The Source Weekly (Bend), May 22, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Fixed Flock program ended Jan. 2026; in-car Axon ALPR continues. A fixed Axon camera plan was pending a council vote as of late May 2026; no vote found. Police Chief Mike Krantz said May 18, 2026 that no decisions had been made. Policy publication date given as mid-May 2026 by The Source.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Deschutes County Sheriff's Office

Status
Checked: no program found
Vendors
Cameras
Count not documented
Office does not use ALPR (The Source, May and June 2026). New Axon Fleet 3 dash cameras are ALPR-capable but the function was left out of the contract.
Sources
The Source Weekly (Bend), June 4, 2026; The Source Weekly (Bend), May 20, 2026
  1. June 3, 2026 County commissioners unanimously approved a five-year, $2.4 million Axon contract for in-car cameras, body cameras and Tasers that leaves out license plate reader capability; Interim Sheriff Ty Rupert cited public concern over data access by federal immigration authorities. Adding ALPR later would require a surveillance policy, commission review and public comment. (The Source Weekly (Bend), June 4, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Redmond Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Axon
Cameras
Count not documented
Department confirmed use of Axon ALPR to The Source (May 2026); count not stated.
Sources
The Source Weekly (Bend), May 20, 2026
Conflicts and open questions
  • Not to be confused with Redmond, Wash., whose Flock program is widely reported.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Sunriver Police Department (Sunriver Service District)

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
4
4 LPR cameras per the department's Flock transparency portal (page header 'last updated' July 29, 2025; viewed Nov. 1, 2026).
Sources
Flock Safety / Sunriver Police Department, July 29, 2025; Sunriver Service District, Nov. 1, 2026; The Source Weekly (Bend), May 20, 2026
  1. May 2024 Police Chief Stephen Lopez presented plans to the Sunriver Owners Association and Service District boards for Flock cameras at the two main entrances (Cottonwood Road and South Century Drive), projected at $14,000 to install and $12,000 a year; he said data would be deleted after 30 days. (KTVZ, June 9, 2024)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The district website says the department uses Flock and links 2026 monthly plate-reader data; The Source (May 2026) says it publishes monthly audits. Its Flock portal (last updated July 2025) lists 30-day retention and immigration enforcement as a prohibited use; the portal's list of organizations with access includes agencies in other states and federal agencies such as U.S. Border Patrol.

From agency records.

Statewide

  1. July 25, 2025 U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden announced an agreement with Flock Safety barring out-of-state agencies from running searches of Oregon camera data tied to abortion or immigration; searches among Oregon agencies were not affected. Wyden had contacted Attorney General Dan Rayfield and Oregon State Police, who told him Oregon had no statewide policy on plate-reader data access. (KLCC, July 25, 2025)
  2. Oct. 16, 2025 Wyden said his office's review found Flock's search filters could be bypassed and that Flock does not proactively audit searches; he urged local officials to consider removing Flock cameras. (Office of U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, Oct. 16, 2025)
  3. Nov. 17, 2025 The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Floyd Prozanski (D-Eugene), held an informational hearing on license plate readers ahead of the 2026 session; the Oregon Association Chiefs of Police said Oregon departments comply with the state sanctuary law. (KLCC, Nov. 17, 2025)
  4. Dec. 2025 In mid-December 2025, Prozanski said he had assembled a work group of police, the ACLU and the anti-surveillance group Eyes Off Eugene to write plate-reader rules for the 2026 session, and that any rules must fit Oregon's shield and sanctuary laws. (KLCC, Dec. 15, 2025)
  5. March 5, 2026 The Legislature passed Senate Bill 1516, a public safety omnibus bill containing plate-reader rules; the Senate vote was 27-0 (February) and the House vote 54-3. The House Rules Committee had recommended the A-engrossed bill 7-0 on March 3, 2026. (The Oregonian/OregonLive (republished by GovTech), March 6, 2026; Oregon Legislature, March 3, 2026; KLCC, March 6, 2026)
  6. March 31, 2026 Gov. Tina Kotek signed SB 1516, effective on signing under an emergency clause. It limits plate-reader data retention to 30 days unless tied to a criminal investigation or court proceeding, requires a logged purpose for each search, bars use for immigration enforcement (the staff summary cites ORS 181A.820), limits searches by non-Oregon agencies to discrete law-enforcement-relevant requests that must be logged, makes agencies the data owners, requires vendors to produce monthly and quarterly audits that agencies publish, exempts plate data from public records, and creates a private right of action against vendors for intentional or grossly negligent sharing. Local governments may adopt stricter rules. (Oregon Capital Chronicle (republished by OPB), April 23, 2026; Oregon Legislature, March 3, 2026; Willamette Week, June 29, 2026; KLCC, March 6, 2026)
  7. April 2026 ODOT said its current policy does not allow ALPRs within state highway right of way and that it would work with Flock and law enforcement to remove or relocate cameras installed along Highway 199 in Cave Junction. (KOBI-TV NBC5, April 2026)
  8. June 29, 2026 Willamette Week reported that Albany, Bend, Eugene, Springfield and Woodburn had turned off Flock cameras, with Woodburn removing its cameras after an audit showed immigration agencies had accessed its data. (Willamette Week, June 29, 2026)
  9. Sept. 11, 2026 A statewide roundup listed Bend, Eugene, Springfield, Talent, Winston and Woodburn as having canceled or suspended Flock contracts in recent months. (Willamette Week (Oregon Journalism Project), Sept. 11, 2026)
  10. Sept. 2026 The Oregon Capital Chronicle reported that Reps. Willy Chotzen (D-Portland) and Alek Skarlatos (R-Winston) are pursuing 2027 legislation that could ban Flock cameras statewide; Chotzen spoke to the outlet and Skarlatos did not respond. Flock argued a blanket ban would take away an investigative tool. (Oregon Capital Chronicle (republished by OPB), Sept. 25, 2026)

State agencies

Oregon State Police

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Axon
Cameras
Count not documented
In-car plate readers in patrol vehicles, part of Axon's Fleet 3 camera system; the number of vehicles was not reported.
Sources
Lookout Eugene-Springfield, Nov. 9, 2025
  1. June 2025 OSP began replacing its patrol-car camera system with Axon Fleet 3 cameras, which read license plates. A spokesperson said OSP owns the plate data, does not share it with Axon, does not keep it indefinitely, and uses it for missing or endangered people and serious crimes under its policy. (Lookout Eugene-Springfield, Nov. 9, 2025)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Start month per an OSP spokesperson quoted in November 2025.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.