Georgia Senator Explores Legislation on License Plate Reader Misuse
ATLANTA — Rising concerns regarding the misuse of license plate reader systems have prompted a state senator to consider legislative action to prevent potential abuses by law enforcement.
Frequent reports have surfaced about officers allegedly utilizing license plate reader data for personal reasons, such as monitoring acquaintances. In response, Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, announced on Tuesday his participation in a new task force aimed at assessing the need for legislative measures.
Albers has extended invitations to other legislators to join the initiative.
“Like every citizen in our state, we’re concerned about the abuses that have taken place,” expressed Albers, who chairs the Senate Public Safety Committee and holds significant sway over law enforcement-related legislation.
Reports of police misuse of these systems have been on the rise in Georgia as more local departments begin audits and report potential abuses to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Just last week, WSB-TV reported that three ex-officers in Savannah were charged with misusing the license plate reader system, along with a violation of their oath of office. Another employee faced similar charges.
In other instances in Georgia, former law enforcement officers have been charged not only with misuse but also stalking and computer invasion of privacy.
Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based company, is a prominent name in the license plate reader sector. By 2023, it claimed that its cameras operated in at least 70% of Georgia’s cities.
The widespread use of these cameras has sparked privacy concerns.
Since early 2025, at least 30 communities nationwide have discontinued their Flock cameras or ended contracts with the company, NPR reported in February. The report also highlighted criticism from Flock CEO Garrett Langley against DeFlock, a crowdsourced mapping initiative.
As of Tuesday, DeFlock’s website noted over 130 cities had terminated Flock contracts or deactivated their cameras, yet approximately 135,000 license plate readers remain functional.
In mid-August, Flock introduced initiatives to bolster accountability and privacy. The company recommended reducing the default data retention period from 30 days to seven and allowing cities to define the types of offenses that external agencies could search for in their data.
Flock’s network interconnects law enforcement nationwide. The Utah News Dispatch reported last week that 10 Flock cameras in a single Utah county were accessed over five million times from February 2022 to July, with nearly 97% of searches originating from law enforcement across 45 other states.
Flock stated that its technology assisted in locating 10,000 missing individuals in 2025 and played a significant role in recovering stolen vehicles.
Authorities in Cobb County credited the Flock network’s interagency collaboration for apprehending a suspect in a 2023 Midtown Atlanta shooting, according to Atlanta News First.
Albers mentioned the task force was established by the Georgia Association of Sheriffs and the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police.
Addressing media at the Capitol, Albers expressed uncertainty about potential legislative outcomes from the task force discussions. He highlighted the difference between public and private property legislation concerning Flock cameras and stressed their importance in police operations.
“People have concerns and public trust is paramount,” he remarked, describing the cameras as “an invaluable crime-fighting tool.”
