SIGNALDATAInsights. For the People.
Preview
License-plate readers · Lexington County

Lexington County

Using license-plate readers · 2 agencies documented

← Statewide map
Abbeville CountyAiken CountyAllendale CountyAnderson CountyBamberg CountyBarnwell CountyBeaufort CountyBerkeley CountyCalhoun CountyCharleston CountyCherokee CountyChester CountyChesterfield CountyClarendon CountyColleton CountyDarlington CountyDillon CountyDorchester CountyEdgefield CountyFairfield CountyFlorence CountyGeorgetown CountyGreenville CountyGreenwood CountyHampton CountyHorry CountyJasper CountyKershaw CountyLancaster CountyLaurens CountyLee CountyLexington CountyMarion CountyMarlboro CountyMcCormick CountyNewberry CountyOconee CountyOrangeburg CountyPickens CountyRichland CountySaluda CountySpartanburg CountySumter CountyUnion CountyWilliamsburg CountyYork County

Irmo Police Department

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
11
11 Flock cameras installed for nearly four years as of July 2026; contract approved to add 22 for a total of 33 (install date unknown).
Contract
Flock Safety: $403,050 total · approved by Irmo Town Council (4-1) · Five-year contract adding 22 cameras, paid from general funds; WIS rounds to $403,000. (The Post and Courier, July 22, 2026; WIS News 10, July 21, 2026)
Sources
The Post and Courier, July 22, 2026; WIS News 10, July 21, 2026; Flock Safety / Lexington Police Department, Dec. 7, 2025
  1. July 21, 2026 Town Council voted 4-1 to approve a $403,050 five-year Flock contract expanding from 11 to 33 cameras; Councilmember Gabriel Penfield cast the no vote. Police Chief Bobby Dale supported it. (The Post and Courier, July 22, 2026; WIS News 10, July 21, 2026)
  2. Aug. 2026 At least two Irmo plate-reader cameras were damaged, apparently with foam sealant; police were aware. (WIS News 10, Aug. 13, 2026; WACH Fox 57, Aug. 21, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Vandalism date not given beyond the week before Aug. 13, 2026, hence YYYY-MM.

Reported by news outlets; agency records not yet obtained.

Lexington Police Department (Town of Lexington)

Status
Using license-plate readers
Vendors
Flock Safety
Cameras
8
8 "LPR and other cameras" per Lexington PD's Flock transparency portal (page last updated Dec. 7, 2025).
Sources
Flock Safety / Lexington Police Department, Dec. 7, 2025; WIS News 10, Sept. 1, 2026
  1. 2012 Department began using license plate readers (vehicle-mounted and stationary), later switching to Flock. (WIS News 10, Sept. 1, 2026)
  2. Dec. 7, 2025 Flock portal showed 319,945 vehicles detected, 2,420 hotlist hits and 95 searches over 30 days; retention listed as 30 days; prohibited uses include immigration and traffic enforcement. (Flock Safety / Lexington Police Department, Dec. 7, 2025)
  3. Sept. 1, 2026 Chief Terrence Green defended the program and said retention had been cut from 30 days to seven; the portal then showed about 300,000 unique plates in 30 days. (WIS News 10, Sept. 1, 2026)
Conflicts and open questions
  • Retention conflict: portal snapshot says 30 days; chief said in Sept. 2026 it was reduced to seven days (likely a later change).
  • WIS reported Sept. 28, 2026 that residents had raised concerns at council meetings in Lexington and elsewhere in the Midlands; no council action was found.

From agency records.

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.