Chief Chris Settle defends Culpeper police use of license-plate readers, cites 21-day retention and casework

Chief Chris Settle, the police chief for the town of Culpeper, told a community town hall that the department’s LPR program is an investigative tool used under strict policy and oversight, not a mechanism for continuous tracking of residents. "It takes a point takes a picture of a point in time of an image of the vehicle's rear and the license plate on a public highway," Settle said, describing how LPR captures only the rear of a vehicle and basic vehicle descriptors.

Settle outlined the department’s inventory — 13 fixed LPR units and 34 fleet (in‑car) units — and operational safeguards including required case numbers and a documented reason before officers can query the system. He told residents the department follows the new state code that limits retention of non‑evidentiary images, saying plainly that the department retains plate reads for 21 days unless the image becomes evidence in a criminal matter. "All images not related to criminal activity and criminal investigations purge after 21 days," he said.

The chief cited a series of locally sourced success stories — including stolen‑vehicle alerts, a reported abduction resolved within 12 hours and a missing‑person (Alzheimer’s) recovery — as reasons the department values LPR technology. He stressed that LPR hits alone do not justify enforcement: officers must visually confirm a plate or develop other investigative leads before taking action. The town‑hall presentation included multiple resident questions about accuracy, AI use in vendor processing, and whether private cameras (HOAs, retailers) are subject to the same limits; Settle said private/commercial systems are not governed by the same statutes and cannot perform the department’s searches unless data are lawfully integrated.