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Resident Jackson urges data safeguards as Trenton renews Flock license-plate reader program
Summary
After a resident raised questions about whether local license-plate reader (LPR) data is shared with federal agencies, Trenton police explained retention and access rules and the council approved renewal of the city's Flock LPR agreement, with officials citing policy and audits to limit misuse.
A Trenton resident who identified himself only as Jackson urged the city council on March 2 to clarify whether the city shares license-plate reader data with federal agencies and to strengthen safeguards before renewing the city's partnership with Flock Safety.
"I have serious concerns about how license plate reader data may be shared with federal agencies," Jackson said during the public-comment period, asking the mayor and council to explain the city's historical practices on sharing, retention and cross-agency access.
Chief Jake Hawkins responded that the Trenton Police Department shares LPR information with 262 agencies across the country but said "not one of them is a federal agency." Hawkins told the council that Flock's system defaults block federal lookups, searches require a stated reason and an officer's name is attached to the query, and the department limits raw data retention to 30 days. "We do take this seriously," Hawkins said, noting quarterly browsing audits and a departmental policy (policy 4.1 0.3) that restricts automated-license-plate-reader use to law-enforcement criminal investigations.
Hawkins also said the department has added training for authorized users and pointed to recent national incidents to explain why audit trails and compliance matter. He recommended renewing the city's agreement with Flock, saying the system has assisted investigations locally and nationwide.
The council moved, supported and approved the agenda item renewing the Flock LPR camera project in the amount listed on the agenda ($29,000 to $29,500). The motion passed with no recorded discussion after the chief's presentation; the transcript records the approval as unanimously ordered but does not list individual recorded votes.
Why it matters: License-plate reader systems collect vehicle-location data that privacy advocates say can enable broad surveillance if oversight and access controls are weak. Trenton officials said the department uses policy, training and audits to limit searches and that certain searches (immigration- or reproductive-care–related) are blocked at the vendor level.
What happens next: Chief Hawkins said he would be available to speak with the resident and other council members after the meeting about remaining questions. The department also said it plans a public transparency dashboard tied to its broader accreditation work, which the chief said will include policies, use-of-force data and complaint information when it is rolled out.
