Village of Montgomery Police Chief Joseph Guarneiri gave trustees a detailed breakdown of the department’s new license plate reader program during the board’s Sept. 1 meeting, following questions and concerns residents raised two weeks earlier.

The Police Department installed five license plate readers at the village’s entrances on Aug. 26, using funding from the Law Enforcement Technology Grant.

At the board’s Aug. 18 meeting, several residents pressed for more information about the cameras. Resident Don Berger said the cameras had not been adequately explained to the public, despite being approved and purchased using grant funding. Resident Mark Palczewski asked where the collected data goes and whether it is sold. Resident Karina Tipton urged the board to establish formal regulations for accessing the data, citing concerns raised nationally about warrantless searches and Fourth Amendment privacy rights connected to surveillance manufacturer Flock Safety.

Guarneiri told the board the department purchased and installed Motorola L6D and L6Q model readers, not Flock cameras. He said the department chose Motorola for its data security, noting the company has worked with the New York State Police since 2012 and follows strict Criminal Justice Information Services protocols.

“The data is owned by our agency and is not accessible to anyone else without permission, and we can see when it’s accessed,” Guarneiri said.

When a vehicle passes an LPR, the camera photographs the license plate and cross-references it against the state’s Division of Criminal Justice Services hot list, which is drawn from the New York Statewide Police Information Network. A match — for cases such as stolen vehicles, kidnappings or Amber Alerts — sends an alert to an officer’s patrol car computer. The officer then independently verifies the match through the DCJS portal before conducting a traffic stop. Guarneiri said the readers do not include facial recognition, Bluetooth tracking, automated ticketing or live video footage.

All data is stored in the Azure Government cloud and remains the department’s property; Guarneiri said it is not shared outside the agency. Officers who misuse the system face unspecified consequences, he said. Guarneiri gave differing figures for how long data is retained before deletion, at one point saying archived data is deleted after 18 months and later saying it is deleted after 60 days; only the chief and sergeants can access archived records.

Guarneiri said the cameras are meant to improve public safety, not to surveil residents. Mayor Mike Hembury voiced support for the program, saying it would help preserve the village’s standing as one of the safest communities in the country.