Troy, NY council advances amendments to ALPR ordinance, extending data retention to 72 hours

Event: September 17, 2026 · First reported: September 18, 2026 · 4 sources

Troy's city council moved forward with amendments to Local Law 3, the measure intended to regulate current and future automated license plate readers in the city, during a finance meeting reported by WAMC on September 18, 2026. The amendments lengthen the data retention window from 48 hours to 72 hours and allow longer retention when an officer has a "reasonable belief" the data may serve as evidence. The law follows the council's earlier search for ways to end Troy's Flock Safety contract, which Mayor Carmela Mantello continued using executive emergency powers. According to WAMC's reporting from the meeting, neither police officials nor residents expressed satisfaction with the revised language.

Why this matters

Troy illustrates how retention limits and the standards for extending them become the central fight once a community decides to regulate rather than remove ALPR cameras, and how an executive can keep a contract in place over council objections.

Key facts

Local Law 3 would regulate all present and future license plate readers in Troy; amendments raise the retention period from 48 to 72 hours.
Data may be held beyond 72 hours if an officer has a "reasonable belief" it is needed as evidence; residents at the meeting said the term lacks defined criteria.
Assistant Chief Stephen Barker said the documented-approval process would require exporting reads to a CSV or Excel file, reducing searchability; a city spokesperson said images are omitted from such exports.
Mayor Carmela Mantello previously used executive emergency powers to continue the city's Flock Safety contract after the council sought options to cancel it.
Sponsor Councilmember Noreen McKee said the council was trying to balance an effective police tool against Fourth Amendment privacy protections.

Sources

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

Troy passes changes to law regulating Automatic License Plate Readers (Wamc Northeast Public Radio, September 18, 2026)
Troy passes changes to law regulating automatic license plate readers cameras (WAMC, September 18, 2026)
Troy passes changes to law regulating automatic license plate readers cameras (WAMC, September 18, 2026)
Troy passes changes to law regulating Automatic License Plate Readers (WAMC, September 18, 2026)

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About this record

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 21, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.