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License-plate readers · Beaufort County

Beaufort County

Using license-plate readers · 3 agencies documented

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Beaufort County Sheriff's Office

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Rekor Systems, Verkada
Cameras
Count not documented
Counts differ: WTOC (Feb. 19, 2026) about 60; WSAV (Feb. 20, 2026) 37 with 10-15 more requested; Island Packet (2026) 24 ALPRs with a goal of 50, plus 87 traffic cameras made searchable. Dec. 2024 approval was for 26 Rekor cameras.
Contract
Rekor Systems: $262,291 total · approved by Beaufort County Council · 26 Rekor cameras paid with federal ARPA funds; Councilman David Bartholomew was the only objector; exact approval date and tally not given. (Post and Courier, Nov. 29, 2024; Post and Courier, Dec. 13, 2024)
Sources
WTOC, Feb. 19, 2026; WSAV, Feb. 20, 2026; The Island Packet (via AOL), date not shown
  1. Nov. 24, 2024 County council's Finance, Administration and Economic Development Committee advanced the $262,291 Rekor request, per the Post and Courier. (Post and Courier, Nov. 29, 2024)
  2. Dec. 2024 Beaufort County Council approved the sheriff's request for 26 Rekor plate readers. (Post and Courier, Dec. 13, 2024)
  3. Feb. 2026 Sheriff P.J. Tanner described the expanded network to local TV, saying data is deleted after 30 days and that he would seek more cameras in county budget talks. (WTOC, Feb. 19, 2026; WSAV, Feb. 20, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Spending figures differ: WTOC says about $200,000 for the 2025 first wave; WSAV says about $250,000 at first, growing to about $400,000.
  • The Island Packet piece (read through AOL) shows no publication date; its photos are dated through Feb. 4, 2026.
  • Hilton Head Island has no town police; per the Island Packet the town holds Flock contracts, with the public safety director as the only authorized user and a sheriff's captain overseeing compliance. WSAV gives 15 ALPRs for Hilton Head.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Beaufort Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
19
19 ALPRs for the City of Beaufort per WSAV (Feb. 20, 2026, citing the sheriff); vendor Flock per the Island Packet.
Sources
The Island Packet (via AOL), date not shown; WSAV, Feb. 20, 2026
Conflicts and open questions
  • Council approval and costs not located.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Bluffton Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
50
WTOC (Aug. 12, 2026): about 50 Flock cameras installed since 2024. WSAV (Feb. 2026, citing the sheriff) gave 19.
Contract
Flock Safety: $163,550 total · approved by Bluffton Town Council · Phase 1 fiscal impact in a Sept. 10, 2024 police staff report asking council to let the town manager sign a Flock contract; annual recurring cost $74,500; staff report says council approved the Phase 1 purchase in June 2024. (Town of Bluffton, Sept. 10, 2024)
Contract
Flock Safety: $74,500 year · approved by Bluffton Town Council · Recurring annual cost per the Sept. 10, 2024 staff report. (Town of Bluffton, Sept. 10, 2024)
Sources
WTOC, Aug. 12, 2026; The Island Packet (via AOL), date not shown; Town of Bluffton, date not shown
  1. 2024 Began installing Flock cameras along busy corridors. (WTOC, Aug. 12, 2026)
  2. June 2024 Town Council approved buying Phase 1 of a Flock camera plan, per a later staff report. (Town of Bluffton, Sept. 10, 2024)
  3. Sept. 10, 2024 Police staff report asked Town Council to authorize the town manager to sign a Flock contract ($163,550 Phase 1; $74,500 a year recurring). The council's action that night was not in the document read. (Town of Bluffton, Sept. 10, 2024)
  4. Aug. 2026 Chief Joe Babkiewicz presented safeguards to Town Council, including quarterly audits by a citizen oversight committee, and said a public transparency page would launch in January or February. (WTOC, Aug. 12, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • The presentation date is given by article date (Aug. 12, 2026). Count conflict (about 50 vs. 19) recorded.
  • An undated police proposal ('Attachment 3: Camera Upgrade and Expansion') laid out three phases: 17 Falcon plate readers and 4 Condor cameras first, then 12 more Falcons, then 18 Condors (51 new cameras), with Flock integration of 128 existing downtown cameras. Approval of later phases was not found.
  • Flock Condor and Wing are Flock video products; this record counts plate readers where possible.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Statewide

  1. March 2024 By March 2024 SCDOT had stopped approving new plate-reader installations in state right-of-way, citing ongoing litigation, according to an SCDOT spokeswoman. In February 2024 Transportation Secretary Christy Hall had said the department found more than 200 Flock cameras on state right-of-way without permits. A Flock spokesman said cities, counties and private owners could still install cameras elsewhere. The date the pause began was not reported. (The Post and Courier, March 11, 2024)
  2. July 2024 Local agencies reported working around the SCDOT pause, e.g., mounting cameras on private property or utility poles (Florence County SO, Loris PD; both outside the Midlands). (WMBF News, July 3, 2024)
  3. Jan. 14, 2025 H. 3155 (Rep. Rutherford) introduced and referred to House Judiciary: would restrict ALPR use to listed purposes, cap retention at 90 days, bar sale of data, and make violations a misdemeanor. No action after referral shown on the bill page. (South Carolina General Assembly, Jan. 14, 2025)
  4. Feb. 13, 2025 H. 4013 (Reps. J.E. Johnson, Gilliam, Bailey, Guest; Alexander added 2025-03-26) introduced and referred to House Education and Public Works: lists lawful ALPR uses, 90-day retention for law enforcement absent an investigation, audit logs, written public policy, ban on sale; expressly lets SLED operate an ALPR database; adds Section 57-3-786 directing SCDOT to set up a permit process for government cameras on non-interstate rights of way. No action after referral shown. (South Carolina General Assembly, Feb. 13, 2025; Municipal Association of South Carolina, date not shown)
  5. March 12, 2025 S. 447 (Sen. Brian Adams; companion H. 3155) introduced and referred to Senate Judiciary. Similar framework to H. 4013 (permitted uses, 90-day retention, written policy, access logs, visual confirmation before stops, no sale of data, SLED database authorized, SCDOT permitting via new Section 57-3-786) and makes misuse of law enforcement ALPR data a misdemeanor (fine up to $1,000 and up to two years in prison). (South Carolina General Assembly, April 9, 2026)
  6. April 15, 2025 WSPA quoted an SCDOT spokesperson on April 15, 2025 saying it was "unclear" whether the devices are allowed in state-owned right-of-way; on April 17 WIS reported SCDOT had not installed readers in state right-of-way for more than a year and was waiting for direction from lawmakers. (WIS News 10, April 17, 2025; WSPA 7NEWS (via Yahoo News), date not shown)
  7. April 15, 2025 A Senate Judiciary subcommittee gave S. 447 a favorable report; the full committee carried it over (per MASC tracker). (Municipal Association of South Carolina, date not shown)
  8. March 2, 2026 Attorney General Alan Wilson joined two Georgia-led multistate friend-of-the-court briefs, with 17 other states signing alongside South Carolina, supporting police use of license plate readers against Fourth Amendment challenges. The office's release does not name the cases or courts. (South Carolina Attorney General's Office, March 2, 2026)
  9. April 9, 2026 Senate Judiciary Committee reported S. 447 favorably (statehouse bill page lists 4/9/2026; MASC tracker lists 04.08.2026). No later floor action is shown on either page; FOX Carolina reported in September 2026 that lawmakers are expected to revisit ALPR rules in January 2027. As of these sources South Carolina has no statute specifically governing ALPR. (South Carolina General Assembly, April 9, 2026; Municipal Association of South Carolina, date not shown; FOX Carolina, Sept. 11, 2026)
  10. Sept. 2026 Gov. Henry McMaster, asked by FOX Carolina after Florida moved to remove Flock cameras from state roads, said law enforcement should not be deprived of such tools and that misuse should bring accountability. (FOX Carolina, Sept. 11, 2026)

State agencies

South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED)

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Vendor not named in source
Cameras
6
SLED's own units as SLED described them in 2022: five trailer-mounted portable readers and one fixed reader; most reads in its central database come from local agencies (48 contributing agencies, ~400 million reads, three-year retention, per 2022 reporting).
Sources
GovTech / The State, Nov. 17, 2022; WSPA 7NEWS (via Yahoo News), date not shown; Flock Safety / Lexington Police Department, Dec. 7, 2025
  1. Nov. 2022 Reporting on a petition against SLED described its central ALPR database ("Back Office"): about 400 million plate images kept three years, SLED-owned units of five trailers and one fixed camera, data from 48 agencies. (GovTech / The State, Nov. 17, 2022)
  2. Dec. 7, 2025 SLED is listed among organizations with access to Lexington Police Department's Flock data on Lexington PD's Flock transparency portal. (Flock Safety / Lexington Police Department, Dec. 7, 2025)
Conflicts and open questions
  • WSPA (April 15, 2025) quoted senior SLED agent Mark Amos as saying the data is used only for law-enforcement investigations and that every search has a reason behind it.
  • No South Carolina statute expressly addresses the database; petitioners challenging it say no law authorizes it and SLED says state law does. H. 4013 and S. 447 would authorize it expressly.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.