Senators Warnock and Britt Press DOJ for Federal Guardrails on ALPR Misuse

First reported: September 26, 2026 · 2 sources

An opinion column by LaGrange College political scientist John A. Tures describes a bipartisan U.S. Senate effort by Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) urging the Department of Justice to address misuse of automatic license plate readers. Citing reporting by The Hill, the column says the senators wrote to the Justice Department requesting information on federal funding and oversight of ALPR systems and how compliance with federal law is ensured. At a press conference, Warnock said he favors national standards rather than a state-by-state patchwork, calling for accountability, supervision and audits of searches. No legislation has been enacted; the senators' action is a request for federal action and information.

Why this matters

Federal dollars help fund many local ALPR deployments, so questions about DOJ oversight bear directly on whether local agencies face any external audit or accountability requirements for how camera searches are conducted.

Key facts

Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) wrote to the Justice Department seeking information on DOJ funding and oversight of ALPR systems, according to The Hill as cited in the column.
The column states at least 20 law enforcement officers have been fired for abusing ALPR systems, in some cases to track former partners.
Warnock said at a press conference that ALPR rules should not be a patchwork of state laws and called for 'accountability, supervision, and audits of searches.'
Warnock also cited legitimate uses, including locating missing people and Alzheimer's patients, referencing Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.
The author says his students' research found states limiting ALPR data retention for people without active investigations did not have significantly worse crime rates.

Sources

This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.

CONTRIBUTOR'S VIEW - John Tures: A Bipartisan Move To Reign In The Potential Abuses Of Flock Cameras (Valley Times-news, September 26, 2026)
CONTRIBUTOR'S VIEW - John Tures: A Bipartisan Move To Reign In The Potential Abuses Of Flock Cameras (LaGrange Daily News, September 26, 2026)

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BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.

Updated September 29, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.