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License-plate readers · Montgomery County

Montgomery County

Using license-plate readers · 2 agencies documented

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Abington Township Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Axon, Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
FOX 29 reported three Flock cameras being replaced by two Axon cameras; the Inquirer (Sept. 8, 2026) said one Flock camera stayed on for an active investigation. Flock is being phased out.
Contract
Flock Safety: $9,225 year · to Aug. 2026 · Two-year Flock contract that expired in August 2026. (The Philadelphia Inquirer, Aug. 19, 2026; The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 8, 2026)
Contract
Flock Safety: $10,500 year · to Feb. 2028 · Three-year Flock contract at $10,500 a year running to February 2028. In August the township said it would let it run out; by September the chief said it was pursuing an early exit, citing data leaks. (The Philadelphia Inquirer, Aug. 19, 2026; The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 8, 2026)
Contract
Axon: · approved by Abington Township Board of Commissioners Aug. 27, 2026 · Inquirer described the proposal as a five-year Axon contract; amount not reported. (The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 8, 2026; The Philadelphia Inquirer, Aug. 25, 2026; FOX 29 Philadelphia, Aug. 27, 2026)
  1. Aug. 2026 After thousands of the department's Flock search records appeared in public datasets, Abington said it would end its Flock contracts, citing data security. It said it had stopped approving other agencies' requests for access to its cameras and does not allow access for civil matters such as immigration requests. (The Philadelphia Inquirer, Aug. 19, 2026)
  2. Aug. 27, 2026 The Board of Commissioners approved an Axon plate-reader contract to replace Flock. Chief Patrick Molloy said Axon gives the department more control over its data. (FOX 29 Philadelphia, Aug. 27, 2026; The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 8, 2026; NBC10 Philadelphia, Oct. 5, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Searches require a crime category, event code and case number, per NBC10.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Cheltenham Township Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
Count not documented
No township-owned cameras; police reach Flock's network through subscriptions held by local businesses, with their permission.
  1. Aug. 2026 Lt. Joseph O'Neill said Cheltenham has no Flock contract but its officers can search Flock's network through township businesses' subscriptions; Cheltenham searches appeared in leaked Flock search datasets. (The Philadelphia Inquirer, Aug. 19, 2026; The Philadelphia Inquirer, Aug. 25, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Access-only, not an owner of cameras.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. Feb. 2016 PennDOT demonstrated plate-reader equipment for legislators in Harrisburg. Secretary Leslie Richards said one patrol-car unit can check 3,100 plates a day, and PennDOT said it hoped to use savings from ending registration stickers for a grant program to help police buy readers. (CBS Philadelphia, Feb. 11, 2016)
  2. Aug. 13, 2019 State Police officials testified before the House Transportation Committee that they backed HB 317, a proposed plate-reader law, but raised concerns about funding and about local departments' existing equipment. The bill would have set data collection and retention rules, barred use for passive surveillance, kept reader data out of the Right-to-Know Law and created an equipment fund paid for by a traffic-violation surcharge. State Police called the readers a "force multiplier for law enforcement" and said existing systems were "siloed." (Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Aug. 13, 2019)
  3. Nov. 2, 2022 PennDOT issued Strike-off Letter 494-22-09: plate readers may not be attached to PennDOT structures, new structures may not be built for them, they may go on existing non-PennDOT structures with the structure owner's approval, and PennDOT will not fund them because it does not treat them as transportation infrastructure. (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Nov. 2, 2022)
  4. Sept. 29, 2023 In Commonwealth v. Watkins, a Bucks County case, the state Superior Court held in a published opinion that police use of plate-reader data to find a vehicle on public roads was not a Fourth Amendment search, and upheld denial of suppression. One judge dissented. (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Sept. 29, 2023)
  5. Aug. 2026 In August, several lawmakers circulated plate-reader proposals: Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin) to restrict use to listed purposes such as stolen vehicles, missing persons and warrants; Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Northampton) to penalize unauthorized personal use; Sen. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) to bar networked systems that log every passing vehicle; and Rep. Tarik Khan (D-Philadelphia) to let people sue and let the attorney general and district attorneys bring civil actions. Rep. Nathan Davidson (D-Dauphin) had introduced a bill in 2025 to bar sharing reader data to enforce laws restricting health care such as abortion. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star, Aug. 31, 2026; Pennsylvania Capital-Star, Sept. 28, 2026; City & State Pennsylvania, July 24, 2026)
  6. Aug. 2026 At a Franklin County news conference in late August, Gov. Josh Shapiro said "Flock cameras are not a tool that I support" and that he would welcome bipartisan legislation to ban them; his office said in early September that he was open to a ban and working with lawmakers. The governor's office said the State Police and PennDOT do not own Flock cameras and will not allow them on state property. (The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 2, 2026)
  7. Sept. 2026 The Department of General Services said it was removing Flock from the COSTARS cooperative purchasing program, which Flock joined in 2025, and reviewing other plate-reader products sold through it. DGS said one municipality had bought Flock through COSTARS. (Spotlight PA, Sept. 9, 2026)
  8. Sept. 2026 State Police told PhillyVoice they do not own Flock cameras or share data with the company; they did not say whether they use another plate-reader brand. (PhillyVoice, Sept. 21, 2026)
  9. Sept. 1, 2026 Sens. Nick Pisciottano (D-Allegheny) and Patty Kim (D-Dauphin) announced a planned Senate bill, a companion to Rep. Khan's House bill, requiring documented reasons for searches, audit trails and retention standards, with civil penalties and enforcement by the attorney general and district attorneys. (Pennsylvania Senate Democrats, Sept. 1, 2026)
  10. Sept. 24, 2026 Philadelphia City Council unanimously adopted a resolution introduced by Councilmember Rue Landau asking state legislators to ban plate-reader cameras such as Flock or set strong guardrails for them. (City & State Pennsylvania, Sept. 24, 2026; PhillyVoice, Sept. 24, 2026)
  11. Sept. 28, 2026 The House Transportation and Judiciary committees held a joint hearing on plate readers, with testimony from the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association (which favors regulation over a ban), Flock Safety, the ACLU of Pennsylvania, the Institute for Justice, the Women's Law Project and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star, Sept. 28, 2026)
  12. Sept. 28, 2026 Coverage of the House hearing noted that plate readers allowed the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to eliminate toll booths; no details on its retention or sharing were found. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star, Sept. 28, 2026)
  13. Oct. 19, 2026 The House passed HB 2771, sponsored by Rep. Jennifer O'Mara (D-Delaware), 190-13, sending it to the Senate. It would limit plate readers to listed purposes such as felony and homicide warrants and investigations, stolen vehicles and missing persons; bar personal and political use and frontal or occupant imaging; generally require deletion within 72 hours; keep reader data out of Right-to-Know requests; bar transfer of data to a foreign adversary; let people sue and the attorney general bring court actions; require training approved by the State Police and the municipal police training commission; and let municipalities adopt stricter rules. (City & State Pennsylvania, Oct. 19, 2026; The Center Square (via Newsline Local), Oct. 19, 2026; CNHI (New Castle News), Oct. 20, 2026)