Culpeper council accepts $12,500 HEAT grant for cameras and license-plate reader; police describe privacy safeguards

Chief Settle presented the police department's recommendation to accept a $12,500 HEAT grant from the Virginia State Police to fund two cameras and one license-plate reader. He framed the technology as a tool to assist officers and investigators and described the real-time crime and information center as a centralized hub for LPR data, camera feeds and other open-source intelligence.

"We do have a 30 day retention rate for all data through our LPR systems," Chief Settle said, adding the department uses policy and national best practices to guide its deployments. He emphasized that the LPRs "do not use any kind of facial recognition software" and stated the vendor prohibits facial-recognition use. Chief Settle highlighted several cases where technology aided arrests, citing recovered stolen vehicles, multi-state theft investigations and locating missing or endangered persons as examples.

Chief Settle said much of the technology and the center were funded by grants and presented the department's transparency efforts, including a public portal with data on LPR hits, success stories and departmental policy. After his presentation the council moved and approved the acceptance of the HEAT grant by roll-call vote.

Why it matters: The grant provides a modest, targeted upgrade to local surveillance capability. The presentation included procedural and privacy assurances that the department said govern how data are stored and shared.

Next steps: Town staff will accept the grant, acquire the equipment, and integrate it into the department's existing platforms and transparency portal; council did not set additional policy changes at this meeting.