Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Surveillance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Thomasville staff proposes license-plate cameras; council asks for written access policy
Summary
City staff proposed eight cameras with an automated license-plate reader to collect plate data at major access points; council members requested clear policy limits on who can run searches and how the data will be stored and used.
City Manager Michael Brandt described a proposal to purchase eight surveillance cameras with a licensed reader to capture license plates at main entry points to the city for an estimated $26,200. Brandt said the system could be configured to search for partial plate numbers, vehicle colors or other parameters and acknowledged there would be recurring operational costs. "There may have been some lawsuits, but it’s legal to use these cameras on public roads to enforce laws and find law breakers," Brandt said.
Deputy City Manager Eddie Bowling and City Attorney Misti Whitman told the committee that access would be restricted to sworn law enforcement officers and governed by a department policy; Bowling said data would not be public record and that vendors and subscription options could provide access to national databases. Committee Member Scott Styers and Council Member Doug Hunt explicitly asked for a written policy that specifies who may request searches and under what conditions. Bowling said the police department would adopt a policy similar to DMV-access rules and clarified that the system would be used operationally by law enforcement rather than as a public-facing dataset.
Committee members agreed to proceed with budgeting the item but emphasized the need for a clear usage and retention policy before deployment.
