Township government

Police license-plate cameras

The police lease seven Flock cameras that read about 256,000 plates a month, for about $25,000 a year. State rules, not the township, set three-year retention and limit sharing. Committee members asked about misuse, retention and sharing in August 2026; no vote was taken.

Checked against the primary record on . Every figure on this page is sourced at the foot of the article.

In use; contract runs to mid-2027 Last moved

What happens next

No vote is scheduled. The Flock contract (Resolution #25-6-219) runs two years from August 1, 2025. Residents can comment at any Township Committee meeting or request the police license-plate reader policy and audit records from the Township Clerk.

Since 2023 Montgomery’s police have used Flock Safety cameras, which photograph the plate of every passing vehicle, timestamp it and check it against stolen-car, warrant and Amber Alert lists. On October 19, 2026 the department’s public transparency portal showed seven cameras (six fixed, one movable), about 256,000 vehicles detected and 14 officer searches in the previous 30 days. The cameras are leased for about $25,000 a year from the police operating budget.

The Committee has never voted on the program as a policy; it approved the contracts as routine resolutions: up to $36,000 for two years from August 1, 2025 (#25-6-219), and one more camera for $7,650 (#25-8-259).

Most of the rules come from the state. The Attorney General’s Directive 2022-12 requires that data be kept three years, limits when it can be searched and requires a yearly audit. A March 2026 law, P.L.2026 c.4, limits sharing and requires out-of-state police to certify they will not use the data for civil immigration enforcement.

On August 6, 2026, at the Committee’s request, the police presented the program. Members asked about misuse, whether retention could be cut to six months, cloud security and outside access. The answer on retention was that the state sets three years and the township cannot change it. A resident’s question about audits was not answered on the record. No vote was taken. Camera locations, the department’s written policy, its audit results and the list of agencies that can search its data are not public.

The cameras, explained

Timeline

Each dated event on this issue, oldest first, linked to the full sourced entry.

  1. Milestone Attorney General sets statewide rules for police license-plate readers: three-year retention, annual auditsAttorney General Directive 2022-12 replaced New Jersey's 2010 rules for automated license-plate readers. It cut the retention period from five years to three, requires an audit of every agency's program each year, and set up a statewide system that lets New Jersey police agencies search each other's data. It took effect January 23, 2023, before Montgomery installed its first fixed Flock cameras.
  2. Resolved Police introduce fixed Flock license-plate cameras to the CommitteeThe police captain and a lieutenant presented the department's new fixed Flock Safety cameras, which watch traffic entering and leaving the township around the clock. The minutes record that the data "is owned by the municipality and will not be sold" and that a public transparency portal was coming. In the presentation, data not tied to a crime was described as purged after 30 days. The state rule in effect then set three years.
  3. Resolved Committee renews the Flock camera contract: up to $36,000 for two yearsResolution #25-6-219 awarded Flock Group, Inc. a contract for its license-plate cameras of up to $36,000 over two years, starting August 1, 2025. The resolution calls Flock the "sole manufacturer" and "sole provider" of the system. It passed 5-0 without discussion of privacy. At the meeting, the first two years were said to have cost $31,600.
  4. Resolved Committee adds a sixth fixed Flock camera; a privately funded camera at Montgomery Promenade is announcedResolution #25-8-259 approved one more fixed Flock camera for $7,650 over 24 months. Introducing it, a township official said the owner of Montgomery Promenade had agreed to pay for a camera that would be "tied into the system that we have." A Committee member asked for a progress report. The police gave it a year later, on August 6, 2026.
  5. Milestone New state law limits who police may share license-plate data withThe Privacy Protection Act (P.L.2026, c.4) bars government agencies from sharing license-plate reader data except as the law allows. Police in another state may receive it for a criminal investigation only if they certify that it will not be used for civil immigration enforcement or passed on. Agencies have one year to update and post their policies.
  6. Resolved 2026 capital bond ordinance includes an "automated license plate reader" in police equipmentOrdinance #26-1776, a $3,253,300 capital bond ordinance adopted 5-0, includes a $100,300 police equipment line. An "automated license plate reader" is one of several items on it. The ALPR cost is not broken out, and no one spoke at the public hearing. The 2024 bond ordinance had a similar line.
  7. Active Police license-plate cameras (Flock): Committee members ask about privacy; data is kept three years under state policyAt the Township Committee's request, the police presented the township's Flock license-plate camera program. Committee members asked about misuse, data sharing and whether retention could be cut to six months. The lieutenant said the three-year retention period is set by the Attorney General's policy and the township cannot change it. No vote was taken.

Explainers

  • Montgomery's License-Plate Cameras, Explained

    Montgomery's police lease seven Flock Safety cameras that photograph passing license plates, about 256,000 a month. The program started in 2023 and costs about $25,000 a year. The Committee has approved its contracts as routine resolutions. State rules, not the township, set how long the data is kept (three years), who may search it and who it may be shared with. In August 2026 Committee members asked about misuse, retention and sharing. This explainer covers what is on the record, where the record is unclear, and what residents can ask for.

Documents

The township's own records on this issue. Each links to the official copy.

Sources for this overview

  1. Township Committee minutes, June 19, 2025 (Res. #25-6-219)
  2. Township Committee minutes, August 7, 2025 (Res. #25-8-259)
  3. Township Committee minutes, August 6, 2026 (Flock presentation)
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