Sheriff's Real‑Time Crime Center seeks MOU to receive license‑plate reader data from private school vendor

Dustin Bonsgard, a Real‑Time Crime Center analyst with the sheriff’s office, briefed the board on Aug. 12 about a memorandum of understanding with Insight LPR, a private license‑plate reader vendor.

Bonsgard said the county is not a customer of Insight LPR and the MOU would not obligate county funds. Instead, the sheriff’s office has an arrangement under which private entities that purchase Insight LPR cameras in a jurisdiction may provide law enforcement access to read and search data at no cost. He said St. George’s School had purchased Insight LPR cameras and that the county had been offered access to that data under the vendor’s standard terms.

Bonsgard said the MOU simply documents legal access procedures; the sheriff’s office is not buying services. Commissioners and staff confirmed the arrangement is voluntary for private property owners: if private schools or businesses purchase cameras and opt to share data, the sheriff’s office could receive those feeds. The briefing included a short exchange confirming there is no direct financial cost to the county for the MOU.

Commissioners did not take formal action at the briefing; staff said they will include the MOU on the appropriate agenda for formal approval once legal has completed any required review. The sheriff’s office did not present a new data‑retention or privacy policy at the briefing and said the operational access will follow existing law enforcement procedures.