Benton County Commission hears Flock Safety presentation on license-plate readers; resolution to be considered next month

The Benton County Commission heard a presentation from Flock Safety on fixed license-plate readers (LPRs) and live video systems during its meeting, with the sheriff and county commissioners discussing cost, privacy features and a possible funding resolution expected next month.

Kristen, a Flock Safety presenter, described the company’s fixed LPR units as devices mounted on public roadways that capture images focused on the rear of vehicles, use machine learning to extract vehicle attributes and make those images searchable in a database for law enforcement. Sales representative Jordan Burt said the system can send “hot list” alerts in real time to deputies and integrates with the National Crime Information Center and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. “We do not utilize facial recognition software,” Kristen said, adding that Flock deletes most captured data after 30 days by default unless retained for evidence.

The presentation emphasized privacy and oversight features: agency-only data ownership, end-to-end encryption, a public-facing transparency portal (optional), and an audit trail that records user IDs and search reasons. Kristen said agencies can require a case number or search reason for each query and that Flock provides proactive anomaly alerts for potential misuse.

Sheriff (name not stated in the meeting) and commissioners spoke in favor of the technology’s operational benefits. The sheriff described LPRs as a “force multiplier” that can alert deputies to suspect vehicles and help locate missing persons and cross-jurisdictional suspects. He and commissioners discussed local deployment details, including camera locations at county ingress/egress points and roadways tied to crime and traffic patterns.

Commissioners pressed the company on costs and contract terms. Present at the meeting was an existing county pilot of eight LPR units plus two live-view cameras, which Kristen said is priced at about $30,000 per year (installation fees were waived for the initial deployment). Flock staff said additional cameras are roughly $3,000 per camera per year, and Jordan Burt said an onetime installation fee is typically $1,250 per camera but that a time-limited promotion might waive some installation fees if the county commits to a larger purchase promptly. Flock told commissioners a proposal for 12 LPRs plus two live-view units would cost about $42,000 for the first year under the current promotional pricing; the company said the promotion has a short deadline.

Commissioner Price and others asked whether cameras were solar-powered and one-way (for rear plates) or required multiple units for different directions; Flock clarified the LPRs are focused on inbound traffic for plate capture while the live-view cameras have wide pan-tilt-zoom coverage. Several commissioners asked the sheriff to confirm if installation fees could be waived for additional cameras. The sheriff said he would discuss it with his leadership team and attempt to secure a promotion extension, but that a formal resolution and appropriation would be required before the county could commit.

No resolution or purchase was approved at the meeting. Commissioners and staff agreed to prepare a resolution and appropriation for the commission’s next meeting so the county could consider funding for 12 LPRs plus two live-view cameras (the $42,000 figure cited by Flock) and whether installation fees would be waived. A commissioner noted that the county must adopt a resolution before voting and that a vote on this matter would not be appropriate without that formal item on the agenda.

The sheriff and commissioners said they want to move quickly if the promotional pricing can be extended, but Flock indicated the promotion requires relatively prompt action. The commission asked the sheriff and county staff to confirm final pricing and any waived installation fees and to provide a draft resolution for the next meeting’s agenda.

For now, the county remains in an evaluation stage: Flock presented capabilities, privacy controls and pricing scenarios; the sheriff and commissioners signaled operational interest; and staff will bring a formal appropriation/resolution back to the commission for a vote next month.