{"id":127017,"date":"2026-04-30T15:53:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T21:53:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/effort-to-restrict-license-plate-cameras-fails-amid-pushback-from-law-enforcement\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T16:02:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T22:02:15","slug":"effort-to-restrict-license-plate-cameras-fails-amid-pushback-from-law-enforcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/effort-to-restrict-license-plate-cameras-fails-amid-pushback-from-law-enforcement\/","title":{"rendered":"Effort to restrict license plate cameras fails amid pushback from law enforcement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"A
A Flock Safety camera put in place next to the eastbound lanes on U.S Highway 160 in west Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A bipartisan bill to put guardrails on license plate reader cameras in Colorado is not moving forward at the state Capitol, after the main sponsor withdrew the measure on Wednesday. Law enforcement groups, cities and district attorneys said the bill was too restrictive and would hamper criminal investigations.<\/p>\n

Senate bill 70 would have required law enforcement agencies to get a warrant in many cases to access license plate reader data, and would have limited how long it could be stored.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know who\u2019s tapping into it, and we don\u2019t know how it\u2019s being used in a lot of cases,\u201d said Democratic sponsor Sen. Judy Amabile of Boulder of the data collected. \u201cI think the citizens of Colorado are starting to wake up to the idea that everywhere they go, they see these cameras and they don\u2019t know whose cameras they are. They don\u2019t know what they\u2019re for,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

This comes amid a nationwide push to limit the use of automatic license plate readers to protect sensitive personal data. Denver recently changed its contracts with one company, and other cities and states are terminating contracts, limiting data retention, creating warrant requirements, or refusing to share data with federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n

In Durango, a group of residents have presented an ordinance to City Council that would require law enforcement to obtain judicial warrants to access captured license plate data and require automated license plate reader data be deleted after 72 hours except for exigent circumstances such as active crimes. City officials have shown an interest in working with residents and police to find a solution that fits Durango.<\/p>\n

Sheriffs, police and all of Colorado\u2019s prosecutors raised strong objections to the proposed bill, saying it didn\u2019t reflect realistic timelines for investigations and would make it harder to solve crimes, track down leads and protect public safety.<\/p>\n

Durango Police Chief Brice Current told CPR News that the cameras can be an important part of police work. He recalled an incident in Durango when a vehicle hit a pedestrian in a grocery store parking lot and sped off, leaving the victim with extensive injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe checked Flock cameras, we got a partial plate,\u201d he said, referencing a widely used automated license plate recognition company called Flock Safety. \u201cWith that partial plate and a couple days more work, they were able to catch it again and get a full plate. And then from that full plate, they were able to call other agencies and other jurisdictions \u2026 and found out that the people lived in Cortez and that they had a history and so on and so forth,\u201d Current said.<\/p>\n

Sen. Amabile said she tried to narrow the bill\u2019s scope to address concerns, but ultimately even with those changes, she still didn\u2019t have enough support for the proposal to pass the full Senate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bill was an effort to put some common-sense guardrails around it, but we could not get law enforcement to the table, and we couldn\u2019t get the governor\u2019s office to the table to talk about, \u2018can we come up with a policy that we can all agree to?\u2019 And that was really frustrating,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Amabile said many of her constituents are still concerned about mass surveillance, sharing of data with federal authorities, privacy issues, and law enforcement abuse and overreach. She said she plans to run a bill again next session and work with the various stakeholders in the hopes of getting a better result.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the meantime, we need local governments to act because they have the power. They\u2019re making the contracts with these companies, and they can demand that there be guardrails before they agree to pay for these systems,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

To read more stories from Colorado Public Radio, visit www.cpr.org<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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