NCSBI issues ALPR safeguards

State records show cameras operated by several NC law enforcement agencies captured nearly 22 million license plate readings in less than a year. New guidance addresses police searches, privacy protections, and oversight as North Carolina expands its surveillance network.

By Annie Dance | WCAB News

RUTHERFORDTON, N.C. — Millions of license plate readings have already been collected by law enforcement cameras across western North Carolina. Now, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is calling for tighter safeguards governing how officers use that information, who can access it, and when a camera alert can justify police action.

The SBI has issued new best practices for law enforcement agencies operating automatic license plate readers, commonly known as ALPRs. The recommendations address a central concern surrounding the expanding technology: How can police use cameras to identify criminal suspects without improperly tracking motorists who have committed no crime?

The guidance emphasizes that an ALPR alert is an investigative lead, not probable cause by itself. Officers must independently verify alerts before taking enforcement action.

The new SBI recommendations also call for documented reasons for database searches, restricted access, regular audits, limits on data retention, and stronger oversight of information shared between agencies.

The guidance is particularly relevant to western North Carolina, where state records show millions of license plate readings have already been collected through cameras installed along state-maintained roadways.

Flock Safety is one company that provides them through contracts with law enforcement agencies and other entities, but there are several, like Axon, creating more competition for government contracts. There are also organizations providing more transparency data through community maps, like DeFlock, to show taxpayers where the surveillance cameras are located.

Nearly 22 million plate readings in four WNC jurisdictions

According to the SBI's April 7, 2026, report to the General Assembly, four western North Carolina law enforcement agencies collectively recorded 21,954,637 license plate readings through March 15 under the state's highway camera pilot program.

The report provides the following figures:

Law enforcement agency	Camera locations	License plate readings
Hendersonville Police Department	11	7,881,515
Asheville Police Department	2	5,452,647
Macon County Sheriff's Office	5	4,660,138
McDowell County Sheriff's Office	5	3,960,337
Total	23	21,954,637

Source: SBI initial ALPR pilot program report, April 7, 2026. Figures cover reported camera activity through March 15, 2026.

These figures represent license plate readings, not unique vehicles or individual drivers. A vehicle passing the same camera repeatedly can generate multiple records.

The SBI's report also identifies the Henderson County Sheriff's Office and the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office as pilot participants. Wilkes County had seven cameras that recorded more than 5.8 million plate readings through March 15.

More locally, the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office, Rutherfordton Police Department (PD), Forest City PD, Spindale PD, and Lake Lure PD did not appear in the SBI's report to the NCGA.

The SBI's highway pilot program covered fixed cameras installed in state transportation rights-of-way. Cameras installed on municipal streets, private property, or police vehicles were outside that particular program.

What happens when a camera flags your vehicle?

Automatic license plate readers use cameras and software to capture plate numbers, vehicle images, and information about when and where a vehicle was observed.

The systems compare license plates against law enforcement databases containing information about stolen vehicles, wanted persons, missing persons, and vehicles associated with criminal investigations.

When a match occurs, officers can receive an alert within seconds.

However, a camera alert does not necessarily establish that the driver has committed a crime. A plate could be misread, a database entry could be outdated, or the person driving the vehicle could be someone other than the individual investigators are seeking.

The SBI's new guidance emphasizes that officers must independently verify alerts rather than treating a computer-generated match as sufficient justification for enforcement action.

The agency also recommends additional oversight of manually created hot lists, which allow officers to flag particular vehicles for investigative purposes.

For motorists traveling between Rutherfordton, Marion, Asheville, and Hendersonville, the guidance raises practical questions about how agencies verify alerts and document the reasons for searching vehicle-location records.

Cameras have helped investigate WNC crimes

The SBI's April report documents how license plate readers have assisted law enforcement investigations, including cases involving stolen vehicles, missing persons, violent crimes, and drug trafficking.

One investigation involved a suspected drug trafficker traveling between western North Carolina and Atlanta to obtain methamphetamine.

According to the SBI, investigators used license plate reader information to identify vehicles associated with the suspect and attempted a traffic stop.

The suspect set fire to his vehicle and fled on foot before being arrested. Investigators recovered 50 kilograms of methamphetamine and a handgun from the vehicle.

The Hendersonville Police Department also reported that cameras installed in state highway rights-of-way beginning in November 2025 generated investigative leads in two hit-and-run cases, one larceny, and one aggravated assault through mid-January 2026.

The report illustrates the technology's investigative applications, but it does not establish that every camera alert resulted in a crime being solved or that every vehicle recorded was associated with criminal activity.

What does North Carolina law require?

North Carolina already regulates law enforcement use of automatic license plate readers under Article 3D of Chapter 20 of the General Statutes.

The law requires agencies to establish written policies governing the technology, including access, training, data retention, security, and oversight.

Captured data generally cannot be retained for more than 90 days, although state law provides exceptions for certain investigative and legal purposes.

The SBI's new recommendations build on those requirements by calling for more detailed documentation of searches, stronger vendor cybersecurity protections, annual training, and additional scrutiny of searches that could capture information about constitutionally protected activities, including political demonstrations and public assemblies.

The guidance also recommends prohibiting searches conducted for personal reasons, political purposes, or curiosity.

These are recommended best practices, not new mandatory requirements. Agencies remain responsible for complying with existing state law.

Sheriffs' Association supports safeguards

The North Carolina Sheriffs' Association issued a statement supporting the SBI's guidance on Sept. 22, which was developed in consultation with the association, the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police, and the North Carolina Police Executives Association.

The association said the technology provides law enforcement with valuable investigative capabilities but acknowledged the importance of oversight.

"Sheriffs understand ALPRs are powerful tools that can be used in countless ways to help protect our citizens. Sheriffs also understand the need for strict oversight to avoid abuses and maintain the trust of our communities," the association said.

The organization supports agencies using the document to protect residents' privacy while preserving the technology's value to law enforcement.

State expands program as oversight questions remain

The General Assembly authorized the highway camera pilot program in 2023, allowing participating agencies to install license plate readers in North Carolina Department of Transportation rights-of-way.

The SBI's April report identified 32 participating agencies statewide. At the time, 17 agencies had installed cameras at 140 locations, with additional installations awaiting approval or completion.

In July 2026, lawmakers made the program permanent, expanding the framework for placing cameras along state-maintained roadways.

The expansion raises questions about how local agencies will manage access to information collected outside their jurisdictions.

For example, can an officer in Rutherford County search license plate records collected in McDowell County? Which agencies have access to the information, and what documentation is required before a search?

The SBI's report stated that participating agencies agreed to share their ALPR data with the SBI and other participating law enforcement agencies through their vendors.

The report also said that the SBI sought $225,000 in recurring funding to purchase access to databases maintained by different camera vendors, allowing investigators to use information collected across multiple jurisdictions.

That information-sharing capability makes access controls, documented investigative purposes, and independent audits important parts of the state's oversight framework.

What happens next in western North Carolina?

The SBI's recommendations provide a framework for reviewing existing policies, but the document does not establish whether individual western North Carolina agencies have adopted the additional safeguards.

For residents of Rutherford, McDowell, Henderson, and surrounding counties, several questions remain: Who can search the information collected by local cameras? How often are searches audited? Who reviews potential misuse? And what safeguards govern access by agencies outside the county?

The SBI's April report stated that participating agencies reported no instances of retaining captured data for more than 90 days during the pilot program through March 15. That figure addresses reported data retention, not whether every database search was authorized or whether every camera alert was independently verified.

The new guidance allows law enforcement agencies to review those safeguards as North Carolina's license plate reader network continues to expand.

A homeland security senior official, not authorized to speak publicly, told WCAB News that ALPR cameras are an "effective deterrent to crime," and that "cops need cameras, we can't be everywhere at once."

Surveillance systems are directly tied to national security concerns and policies.

Earlier this month, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told this reporter at the G20 in Asheville that "national security remains a top focus" of the Trump administration.

For western North Carolina motorists, the central issue is not simply how many cameras are installed along local highways. It is how the information they collect is used, who can access it, and whether agencies can demonstrate that their officers are following the law.

WCAB News will continue examining how western North Carolina law enforcement agencies implement the SBI's recommendations and what their policies require regarding camera alerts, database searches, information sharing, and oversight.

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Do you have more information relevant to this story or a news tip? Email Annie@WCABNews.com