Putnam County law enforcement officials are seeking to clarify how the county's license plate reader system operates amid national scrutiny of similar technology, emphasizing that the locally controlled network is not connected to the commercial Flock Safety system used in communities around the country.
Putnam County Sheriff Brian Hess, Carmel Police Chief Anthony Hoffmann and Kent Police Chief Kevin Owens issued a joint statement explaining the technology, its privacy safeguards and how it has been used in criminal investigations.
The officials said Putnam's license plate readers, commonly known as LPRs, are not Flock cameras and are not connected to a commercial, nationally searchable database. Instead, information collected by the cameras is stored on a government-owned server operated by law enforcement through a regional Real Time Crime Center partnership.
The statement follows national reports raising privacy concerns about commercial license plate reader networks, including information being stored on private cloud servers and made searchable by law enforcement agencies around the country.
Hess said those concerns do not reflect how Putnam County's system operates.
"When residents read those stories, they deserve to know exactly how our program compares, and the answer is that it does not," Hess said. "Putnam County deliberately chose not to join any commercial camera network."
Hess said the data remains on a government server controlled by law enforcement and is not sold or shared with private companies or made available through a nationwide search network.
"If someone wants to search historical data, they need an active criminal investigation. Period," he said.
According to the law enforcement agencies, Putnam County's system has several restrictions intended to limit access to information collected by the cameras:
No national network: The cameras are not Flock cameras and are not connected to a commercial, nationally searchable database.
Government-controlled storage: Data is stored on a government-owned server operated by law enforcement through the regional Real Time Crime Center partnership rather than on a private company's cloud.
No third-party access: Officials said the system has no integration with private companies or data brokers.
Local law enforcement access: Only local law enforcement officers have access, and officials said searches of historical information require an active criminal investigation.
License plates only: The cameras photograph license plates and do not use facial recognition or identify drivers or passengers.
No automatic tickets: The devices are not speed cameras and do not issue traffic tickets.
Two-year retention: Records are retained for two years and then permanently deleted in accordance with New York State Municipal Police Training Council standards, according to the statement.
Officials said vehicles that do not match an alert list simply pass through without generating an investigative alert.
Putnam County currently has 21 active fixed LPR sites, according to the statement.
Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 11, those cameras generated 808 investigative alerts involving 250 distinct vehicles of interest — an average of roughly 25 alerts per week.
The alerts included:
Stolen vehicles: 546 alerts involving 184 vehicles.
Known burglary crew vehicles: 100 alerts involving 27 vehicles.
Organized retail theft: 141 alerts involving 22 vehicles linked by law enforcement to organized retail theft rings.
Special alerts: 21 alerts involving 17 vehicles associated with violent wanted suspects, missing or suicidal individuals and domestic violence cases.
Law enforcement officials said stolen vehicles are often used by suspects traveling into Putnam County to commit additional vehicle thefts and larcenies while attempting to conceal their identities. The real-time alerts can give police an opportunity to identify those vehicles before another crime occurs, according to the statement.
Officials said the 27 vehicles associated with known burglary crews have been tied to residential burglaries throughout the region, including crews based in New York City.
Nearly half—46 percent—of those burglary-related alerts were triggered by cameras located along the county line, according to the agencies.
The organized retail theft alerts generally involved vehicles associated with out-of-state groups suspected of traveling into the area to steal from local stores, officials said.
The special-alert category included cases in which law enforcement was looking for violent suspects as well as missing or suicidal people and vehicles connected to domestic violence investigations.
The county's LPR system has been operating for more than five years, and officials cited a series of investigations in which they said the technology played a role.
According to the joint statement, license plate reader information has helped law enforcement:
Identify a homicide suspect who later confessed to murder;
Intercept a violent suspect allegedly entering Putnam County to harm a family member;
Solve an armed robbery that had no witnesses or video;
Corroborate evidence in child sex crime investigations;
Identify the person who sabotaged the county's 911 center;
Capture a suspect wanted in connection with a New York City shooting;
Investigate multi-state fraud rings now under federal investigation; and
Locate missing and suicidal individuals.
Hoffmann said Carmel police have used LPR information in 42 cases so far this year, including hit-and-run crashes, stolen vehicle investigations, larcenies and a missing-person case.
"For us this is a daily policing tool, not an abstraction," Hoffmann said. "Our department alone has used LPR in 42 cases so far this year: hit-and-run crashes, stolen cars, larcenies, a missing person."
Hoffmann said the technology has helped investigators solve crimes that previously might have gone unsolved while, he said, not monitoring law-abiding residents.
Owens said Kent Police saw the technology prove useful almost immediately after installing its first reader.
"Within three days of installing our first camera, we identified the vehicle and suspect in a daytime home burglary within hours," Owens said.
Owens said Kent's readers have since helped police capture a suspect wanted in a New York City shooting and investigate a burglary series spanning six counties.
"These cameras earn their keep, and the data stays in law enforcement hands," he said.
The three law enforcement agencies said the distinction between Putnam's system and commercial networks is particularly important as questions about LPR technology receive greater national attention.
Officials described the county's network as an "early-warning system" that can alert police when vehicles associated with crimes or wanted individuals enter Putnam from New York City, neighboring counties or other states.
They said the network was designed to remain locally controlled and governed by law enforcement, with restrictions on who can access historical information and how long the data is retained.
Residents with questions about the program are encouraged to contact the Putnam County Sheriff's Office or their local police department.
This statement is issued jointly by Sheriff Brian Hess, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office; Carmel Police Chief Anthony Hoffmann; Kent Police Chief Kevin Owens, and with partners in Brewster, Cold Spring, and the New York State Police.
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