In an effort to promote complete transparency regarding the use of modern surveillance technology, the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department recently hosted a press briefing to address public concerns about their new Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras. Sheriff Todd Forbes made it clear that the department is committed to radical openness, launching a dedicated online portal at monongaliasheriff.gov. This resource provides real-time access to system data, including vehicle detection numbers, search frequency, and internal audit logs. By placing these details directly into the public sphere, the department hopes to circumvent the need for time-consuming Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, essentially inviting the community to scrutinize the data for themselves.
During the session, Law Enforcement Administrator Mark Ralston provided a technical breakdown of how the hardware functions, moving to dispel myths that the technology is tracking people rather than vehicles. The cameras are programmed to capture only limited, objective data points: the text of a license plate, vehicle make and model, the date, and the geographic location. Ralston emphasized that the system is incapable of identifying individual drivers, recording video footage of occupants, or gathering sensitive personal data like names, home addresses, phone numbers, or racial background. The goal is strictly to identify vehicles associated with specific criminal threats, rather than monitoring the daily activities of private citizens.
The privacy protocols governing this data have been scaled back to further protect the public. While the county maintains ownership of the images, the default storage period has been trimmed from 30 days to just 21, a move influenced by evolving court rulings. To ensure that this data is not misused or leaked, the system maintains strict compliance with the federal Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) standards. Every single interaction with the database is logged with an unalterable audit trail, and department officials are required to conduct mandatory audits every 90 days. Furthermore, the system is locked behind a procedural safeguard: no search can be initiated unless it is tied to an active, documented law enforcement case number.
A major point of emphasis for the department was the “human-in-the-loop” necessity of the system. The cameras do not act as autonomous agents of justice; they are simply tools to trigger a notification when a plate matches a federal crime database, a missing person alert, or a local hotlist of ongoing investigations. Once an alert is generated, a deputy on patrol must physically verify the information before any further investigative action or intervention occurs. As Sheriff Forbes and Administrator Ralston noted, the technology serves as a specialized pair of eyes, but the responsibility for verifying evidence and making decisions remains firmly in the hands of trained law enforcement officers.
The department also attempted to contextualize these cameras by comparing them to the vast amount of surveillance inherent in modern digital life. To illustrate his point, Ralston pulled up a 75-page dossier on himself generated by a commercial, off-the-shelf “people search” website. This easily accessible public report contained his life history, including past and present banking details, home addresses, family connections, and historical vehicle purchases. The message was clear: while some residents may fear the implementation of government-run license plate readers, they are already living in an era where their private information is routinely bought, sold, and accessed by anyone with a credit card and an internet connection.
Funded by $180,000 in opioid settlement money and covering a three-year implementation plan, the 20 cameras placed across the county represent a shift toward high-tech crime prevention. By bringing key stakeholders—including county commissioners and state legislators—into the room for this demonstration, the Sheriff’s Department sought to frame the initiative not as a move toward a surveillance state, but as a responsible investment in public safety. Ultimately, the department’s message is one of accountability: by providing the public with the tools to audit their own police force, they hope to foster trust while utilizing modern science to track criminal activity more efficiently.