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Denver committee advances Axon license-plate reader contract after privacy and security debate
Summary
The Health and Safety Committee voted 5-2 on March 18 to advance a one-year, $150,000 contract with Axon for automated license-plate recognition to the full Denver City Council after extended questioning over data retention, breach-notification timelines and safeguards on live streaming and federal access. Staff said material changes require city consent and retention will be set at 21 days.
The Denver City Council Health and Safety Committee voted 5-2 on March 18 to advance to the full council a proposed one-year, $150,000 contract with Axon for an automated license-plate recognition (ALPR) system, after council members pressed city staff and the vendor on safeguards for data sharing, retention and live-streaming.
Tim Hoffman, director of policy in the mayor’s office, said the administration provided a draft contract the prior Friday and that the Axon infrastructure the city will use does not support facial-recognition functionality. "The system and the infrastructure we have with this... doesn't allow it, period," Hoffman said, adding that the city also intends to remove 111 Flock cameras by the end of the outgoing contract to address earlier concerns about that vendor.
Council members spent the bulk of the meeting probing how contractual language will operate in practice. Councilmember Sarah Paradis said the city had not yet updated Denver…
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