A freshman Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to yank nearly 3,800 automated license plate readers off the state's roads. Democratic state Rep. Brandon Dukes of Cranberry plans to introduce a bill banning Flock cameras and most other automated license plate readers statewide, allowing only Pennsylvania Turnpike cameras used strictly for toll collection to remain.
A Freshman Lawmaker Moves Fast
Dukes will introduce the legislation alongside fellow Democrats Joe McAndrew, Jessica Benham and Malcolm Kenyatta, who co-sponsored a memo backing the bill, according to Axios. The official co-sponsorship memo, filed with the state House, states plainly that the group plans on introducing legislation that would ban the use of ALPRs in Pennsylvania, though as of Sept. 15 the memo noted it had not yet been submitted for introduction. The bill would prohibit new ALPR systems and remove existing ones, with the memo specifying an exception for turnpike cameras, which are used solely for toll collection purposes.
Dukes said he wanted to take action on the issue as soon as he arrived in Harrisburg, and told Axios that all automated license plate readers, including Flock cameras, should be banned in Pennsylvania. He said the concern grew out of his own campaign, during which he spoke with Republican and independent voters worried about Flock. Dukes added that he takes people's privacy seriously, though he said he remains open to reasonable amendments that reflect privacy rights.
Nearly 3,800 Cameras Already In Place
Pennsylvania has 3,776 ALPRs as of Friday, the same Axios report found, underscoring just how widespread the technology has already become across the state. The co-sponsorship memo argues that these systems can create a profile of someone's car to know their location at a specific date and time — a core worry behind the proposed ban.
Flock, the company most associated with the cameras, describes its own privacy safeguards differently. According to Flock Safety, images are deleted after 7 days by default unless a longer retention period is required or the footage is preserved for an authorized investigation, and the company says customers own their data and control access. Flock also says its technology helps agencies locate missing people, recover stolen vehicles, and investigate crime more quickly.
Crowded Field Of Competing Proposals
Dukes's bill isn't the only one aimed at the cameras. Flock cameras and other ALPRs face several other ban and restriction proposals moving through the Pennsylvania Legislature, and at least nine bills to restrict or outright ban the technology have surfaced, seven of them in the past six weeks alone, per the Lock Haven Express. Supporters of the cameras cited in that report say ALPRs assist agencies in locating stolen vehicles, identifying vehicles associated with serious crimes, locating missing or endangered persons, and developing investigative leads.
One competing approach, House Bill 2771, would take a different tack entirely. That measure would create statewide rules for automated license plate readers while expressly preserving a municipality's ability to regulate or prohibit their operation, according to the Upper Merion Area Spotlight. Under HB 2771, ALPR data unrelated to a violation or active criminal investigation would generally have to be destroyed one year after the recorded event — a retention window far longer than Flock's own default.
Where Shapiro Stands
Gov. Josh Shapiro has weighed in as well. Per Axios, Shapiro said he wants Flock banned in Pennsylvania but wants to find a middle ground on regulating other automated license plate readers. In a statement to Patch, Shapiro put it more bluntly: “Flock cameras are not a tool that I support.” He added that he would back bipartisan legislation banning the cameras statewide.
Flock itself estimates that its technology helps solve about 10% of reported U.S. crimes, or more than 700,000 crimes annually, figures the company has cited in its own defense as lawmakers debate restrictions. The Pennsylvania House has until Nov. 10 to pass bills before this year's legislative session ends, putting a hard deadline on which, if any, of the competing ALPR proposals actually reach a vote.
A National Backlash Against Camera Networks
Pennsylvania's fight is playing out against a broader national retreat from license-plate camera contracts. Nationwide, more than 200 cities or law enforcement agencies ended license plate reader contracts in August, the highest monthly total since 2021, according to a report from Jefferson Public Radio. That same report noted California lawmakers failed for the fifth year running to enact regulations on the technology.
Other states are grappling with the same question. Sixteen states already have policies restricting ALPRs, per the Lock Haven Express account, though there are conflicting descriptions of how far any state has gone — one report states no state has yet passed an outright ban, while the Pennsylvania co-sponsorship memo separately describes Florida as recently banning all license plate readers on state-maintained roads. In Nevada, Assemblymember Selena La Rue Hatch plans to introduce legislation in the 2027 Legislature banning ALPR networks including Flock technology, according to This Is Reno, which also reported that the city of Sparks announced it would not renew its Flock contract and would instead switch to Axon.
