Upper Arlington's 20 license plate reader cameras logged more than 413,000 vehicles in 30 days, a police transparency portal shows.
The portal, hosted by camera vendor Flock Safety and last updated Thursday, Oct. 22, shows the cameras detected 413,065 unique vehicles over a rolling 30-day window. Officers conducted 42 search sessions during that period. The system generated 405 hits against national and statewide hotlists, including the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) Amber Alert database.
The portal lets Upper Arlington residents see detailed usage statistics for the camera network. It lists the offense types that triggered searches: larceny and theft, traffic infractions, hit-and-run crashes, stolen vehicles and missing or endangered persons.
The numbers tell only part of the story.
The portal lists a 30-day data-retention period. The cameras capture license plates and vehicles only. They do not use facial recognition and do not detect people, gender or race, according to the portal.
The department's acceptable-use policy prohibits several categories of searches. Immigration enforcement, traffic enforcement, harassment or intimidation, searches based solely on a protected class such as race or religion, and personal use are all barred. Every hotlist hit must be verified by a human officer before police take action. The portal also states that data is owned by the Upper Arlington Police Division and is never sold to third parties.
The transparency push comes as City Council weighs new oversight rules for the cameras. ABC6 reported that council members debated the issue for nearly two hours on Oct. 12 but adjourned without voting. One proposal discussed would require judicial approval before officers could search data nine or more days old.
During that meeting, police called the cameras a key investigative tool. Some residents pushed back. One resident told council the concern "is about the collection, processing and use of data gathered through surveillance networks operating by a for profit company," according to ABC6's report.
The city's contract covers 20 cameras for five years, running from 2024 through 2029, at an annual cost of $54,500 after the first year, ABC6 reported.
In August, NBC4 examined how Franklin County law enforcement agencies share Flock camera data. Upper Arlington police said in a statement to NBC4 that the division found no evidence that federal immigration enforcement agencies improperly accessed or used its Flock data. The division said it routinely audits user and network activity to verify searches serve legitimate law enforcement purposes.
A city spokesperson told ABC6 that discussion is expected to continue at the Nov. 9 City Council meeting. The city declined ABC6's interview request, saying a formal statement would be premature while conversations with residents and community groups continue.
