Updated October 29, 2026: added what police and council members said at the October 22 work meeting, from the city's official recording.
How Many License Plate Reader Cameras Does St. George Have? Quick Answer
The St. George Police Department has eight stationary automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras, with eight more budgeted for a total of 16. The council took no vote at its October 22, 2026, work meeting. The police chief told the council the department had held off on adding the new readers until it could hold this discussion, and said he hoped to move forward. Several council members said they were comfortable with the department using the cameras. Their concerns were about outside access to the data and the city's contract with Motorola.
Key points from the meeting, according to the official recording:
- Retention will be cut to six months. State law allows nine months, but the chief said the department will change its policy to six months, and possibly shorter later, because detectives haven't seen a benefit to keeping data longer.
- The department shares data with ICE. Asked whether the city is currently sharing with ICE, police said yes. The chief said the department is considering excluding specific agencies, using ICE as an example, and said he doesn't necessarily agree that using the data for administrative purposes is appropriate.
- About 30 officers have access. In patrol, only supervisors can run searches. Detectives in the drug task force and investigations unit and the Echo bike patrol team have their own logins. Training is required first.
- Audits are now quarterly. Police said audits were done at least annually and recently moved to at least quarterly, and that no misuse has been found.
- No facial recognition. Police said the Motorola cameras have no facial recognition, no live monitoring and no recorded video. They are motion-triggered still cameras that convert plates to searchable text.
- Council follow-ups: when a council member asked whether there is a list of the agencies the city shares with, police said they can provide one. One suggested that elected officials should decide who gets access, and another agreed. Council members also raised language in the Motorola contract about how customer data can be used, which the department and city legal staff said they would review.
The discussion was the second item at the work meeting, held at 4 p.m. in the City Council Conference Room at City Hall, 61 S. Main St., in St. George. Below the meeting summary is what the agenda packet said beforehand.
What Police and the Council Said on October 22
Why now. The chief said that, with a lot of misinformation about license plate readers in the media, the department wanted to come back to the council because at least two council members hadn't been part of the original discussion. He said the department had held off on the readers added in the current budget until this meeting, and hoped to move forward.
How searches work. Officers can search a known plate, a partial plate with wildcards, or narrow down by vehicle type, color and time range from a specific camera. Every search is logged with the user's IP address, time, search parameters and an incident number. Police said searches by shared agencies under their memorandums of understanding (MOUs) are logged too, and that they can audit those agencies' searches. Police also said a person who believes they are being stalked can ask the department to check whether anyone searched their plate.
Sharing. Police said the data belongs to the city, not the vendor, and that the department accepts or rejects each agency's request to share. They said they can lock out an agency they believe is misusing the system. Police warned that limiting sharing would also limit what St. George gets back from other agencies. They pointed to a case where a suspect vehicle turned up in Alabama.
Legal view. The department's legal adviser told the council that under Utah law, ALPRs are authorized with restrictions. The adviser said they had not seen legal concerns with the department's current or proposed use.
Penalties. Police said unauthorized access to or disclosure of the data is a class B misdemeanor under state code, with more serious charges possible depending on how the data is misused. Officers or dispatchers who misuse it can lose their POST certification.
Camera coverage. Police said each camera's field of view covers about two lanes and can sometimes catch the sidewalk. The cameras are aimed at the public roadway.
Examples cited. Police described a stolen-vehicle alert near Southgate Golf Course that led to a recovered stolen gun and the identification of more than 350 identity fraud victims, some of them local. They also described a burglary case and an elderly driver found after being lost on the freeway for four hours.
Council concerns. One council member said residents they have talked to support the department's use and are more worried about bad actors or companies getting the data. The council member cited section 2.2 of the Motorola agreement, which lets Motorola analyze customer data to improve its products. Police said they understood that to mean usage feedback, and the department and city legal staff said they would review the section and could write the city's own MOU for sharing agencies. Another council member said, "I feel comfortable with our police department using the technology. I don't feel comfortable with some other people using our technology."
What the Agenda Packet Said Beforehand
According to a department presentation in the City Council's agenda packet, SGPD bought the first eight stationary cameras in 2024, and eight more were approved in the FY 27 budget. The department says it has used ALPR technology since 2011.
| Question | What the packet says |
|---|---|
| Using ALPR since | 2011 |
| Stationary cameras now | 8, bought in 2024 |
| Approved total | 16 (8 more in the FY 27 budget) |
| Allowed uses | Active criminal investigations, outstanding warrants, missing or endangered people, stolen vehicles |
| Data kept | No longer than nine months unless tied to a warrant, preservation request or disclosure order |
| Search logs kept | At least five years |
What the Police Presentation Says
The SGPD presentation, titled "ALPR Technology," makes these points:
- Who has access: the department says it has limited who has access within SGPD and developed an ALPR policy to match Utah law.
- Audits: audits are run on agency users and on "shared access users," with customizable audit parameters and detailed results, for both periodic and "acute" auditing needs.
- Penalties for misuse: criminal penalties, a reporting obligation to Utah POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training), and POST disciplinary action.
- What ALPRs can and cannot do: the slide lists topics including still shots versus live video monitoring, "constant vs. motion", "object recognition vs. facial recognition," and describes the technology as a "puzzle piece, not a magic wand." The slide does not explain these points in writing. They are listed as talking points for the meeting.
Cases the Department Cites
The last slide lists three examples:
- Serial burglaries: ALPR data provided the only lead to identify suspects in a string of burglaries that targeted four St. George businesses during a multi-state crime spree.
- Stolen vehicle and fraud lab: a stolen vehicle alert led to recovery of the vehicle and a stolen gun, and to identification of a fraud lab holding information on hundreds of victims.
- Missing person: the system helped locate a missing endangered person with memory and medical issues who had been lost and driving for four hours.
The slides do not give dates, case numbers or arrest details for these examples.
The Department's ALPR Policy
The packet includes SGPD Policy 424, "Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs)," from the department's Lexipol policy manual. It says ALPR data may be used only for official law enforcement business, citing Utah Code 41-6a-2003, and only for four purposes: an active criminal investigation, apprehending someone with an outstanding warrant, locating a missing or endangered person, or locating a stolen vehicle.
Other rules in the policy:
- No one may operate ALPR equipment or access the data without department-approved training.
- Officers should, if practicable, verify an ALPR hit through the appropriate law enforcement database before taking enforcement action based solely on an alert.
- Data not reasonably related to official law enforcement business is to be purged as soon as practicable, and no data is kept longer than nine months unless it is subject to a warrant, preservation request or disclosure order. (On October 22 the chief said the department will change this to six months.)
- Access must go through a login system that records who looked at what, and when. The number of searches, crime types and incident numbers are kept for at least five years.
- ALPR data from a non-governmental device may be obtained only with a warrant or court order.
- Data can be shared with other law enforcement or prosecutorial agencies only after a written request is reviewed and approved. The data is not open to public review.
Vendor Documents in the Packet
The packet also contains blank, unsigned vendor paperwork: a Motorola Solutions customer agreement, a Vigilant Solutions contract acknowledgment, and a template agreement for sharing plate detection data and "hotlists" between agencies on Vigilant's hosted system. Motorola fee sheets list an annual subscription of $2,000 per fixed LPR camera with cellular service. A separate hosted-service sheet lists $250 a year per camera license key after year five and an optional $1,200 annual cellular data plan per camera. The packet does not say which option the city would choose, how many cameras the forms would cover, or the total cost. It also does not say where the cameras are or where the new ones would go.
The same work meeting opens with a discussion of the Temple View concept for the old hospital site. For more on public safety spending this fall, see the city's new emergency services sales tax.
For the rest of the day's agenda, see our Oct. 22 council agenda roundup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does St. George use license plate reader cameras?
Yes. The St. George Police Department says it has used ALPR technology since 2011 and bought eight stationary ALPR cameras in 2024.
Is St. George adding more license plate readers?
The department has eight more budgeted in FY 27, for a total of 16. At the October 22 work meeting, the chief said the department had held off on adding them until it discussed the program with the council, and hoped to move forward. The council took no vote.
How long does St. George Police keep license plate reader data?
Policy 424 currently says no longer than nine months unless the data is subject to a warrant, preservation request or disclosure order. At the October 22 work meeting, the police chief said the department will change its policy to six months, and may shorten it further.
Does St. George Police share license plate reader data with ICE?
Yes, for now. Police confirmed at the October 22 work meeting that the department currently shares with ICE. The chief said the department is considering excluding specific agencies, using ICE as an example. Police told the council they can provide a list of every agency the city shares with.
What can St. George Police use license plate reader data for?
Only for an active criminal investigation, to apprehend someone with an outstanding warrant, to locate a missing or endangered person, or to locate a stolen vehicle, according to Policy 424.
Do St. George license plate readers use facial recognition?
No. At the October 22 work meeting, police said the Motorola cameras have no facial recognition, no live monitoring and no recorded video. The cameras take still photos when they detect motion and convert the letters and numbers to searchable text.
Did the City Council vote on license plate readers Oct. 22?
No. It was a discussion only. Several council members said they support the department using the cameras but want clearer limits on outside agencies and a review of the Motorola contract.
Sources
- Utah Public Notice Website: St. George City Council work meeting agenda, Oct. 22, 2026
- City of St. George: Oct. 22, 2026 work meeting agenda packet, including the SGPD "ALPR Technology" presentation, vendor documents and Policy 424 (PDF)
- Official recording: St. George City Council work meeting, Oct. 22, 2026 (MP3, Utah Public Notice Website)
Published October 18, 2026. Updated October 29, 2026, from the official recording of the October 22 work meeting.
