The plate readers are the centerpiece of a four-year project which Falls police say will “help law enforcement and communities improve public safety.” The project carries a cost of $12,100 for the purchase of the 24 solar-powered plate readers and $288,000 for cloud-based software, storage, support and maintenance.
Funding for the project will come from a New York State Law Enforcement Tech Grant, previously awarded to the Falls Police Department. The project could be extended beyond its current four-year term with additional funding.
The locations for the plate reader cameras will be selected by Falls police based on crime reporting data.
The plate readers are described as “advanced surveillance tools.” Falls police and other law enforcement agencies say data from the plate readers can be used to “reduce crime by enhancing criminal investigations and offering real-time alerts on sensitive police matters.”
Flock Safety, the developer of the plate reader’s software, says its technology has been used by law enforcement agencies to trace stolen vehicles and track criminal suspects tied to shootings and other crimes. The company says data from the plate readers can also enhance “recovery efforts under Amber and Silver alert systems.”
Crystal Duchess, a local resident who spoke at the council meeting, said she felt the plate readers are “a clear violation of privacy.”
“It’s completely unregulated and subject to abuse,” Duchess said.
But Council Member Donta Myles said that after meeting with local law enforcement officials to get more information on the readers and the program, he felt the system provided public safety benefits.
“I did my due diligence,” Myles said, “I’m for it. It’s public safety.”
Council Member Brian Archie agreed with Myles.
“I’m thinking of kids on bikes and they’re getting hit (on the street) and there’s no police around to see it,” Archie said.
Still, both Archie and Myles expressed concerns about being asked to approve the project without final contract terms, still to be negotiated, which might put limits on how long the plate reader data can be retained.
“I’m not a fan of not having a contract and not having information,” Myles said. “I think there needs to be some oversight.”
The technology has also drawn criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union, which has described it as “dangerously powerful and unregulated.”
In 2023, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office entered into a similar agreement with Flock Safety for the installation of 67 pole-mounted license plate readers. According to the sheriff’s office, its system is not used to enforce traffic law violations or to “track citizen movement or to take photos of vehicle occupants or to employ facial recognition technology.” The sheriff’s office said that data collected through the system is “deleted every 30 days on a rolling basis and not sold or shared with third parties.”
© 2025 the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal (Lockport, N.Y.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
