The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office has permanently ending its use of 75 automated license-plate readers across the county and its townships.
The sheriff's office announced the full termination on Friday, Oct. 2, one month after Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey paused the system on Sept. 3. The halt is now permanent.
The office had been the largest user of Flock cameras in the Tri-State region, Local 12 reported. Hamilton County first partnered with Flock Safety in 2022 after a grant funded an initial 25 cameras. The network grew to 75 through agreements with individual townships and municipalities, according to Major Tony Orue of the sheriff's office. While the county controlled all the cameras, local communities paid the county back for devices in their areas.
The sheriff's office said in a media release that residents raised concerns about who outside Hamilton County could access locally collected data, how that information could be shared and what control the office had over those processes. Internal audits found no misuse of the system within the department, the office said.
The scope of data sharing was substantial. The sheriff's office shared its Flock data with 440 law enforcement organizations across Ohio and received data from more than 1,900 agencies nationwide, according to a Flock Safety transparency portal cited by the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The termination carries no extra cost to the county. The sheriff's office said the contract allows an exit without penalty.
McGuffey signaled her priorities when she announced the initial pause on Sept. 3. "I want residents to understand we do listen to their feedback," she said at the time, according to WLWT.
Hamilton County joins a growing list of local governments walking away from the technology. Newport, Independence, Fort Mitchell, Erlanger, Fort Thomas, Edgewood, Pierce Township and Oxford have all ended their Flock programs in recent months.
Amid the backlash, Flock Safety reduced its default data retention period from 30 days to seven and made misuse detection mandatory for every customer.
The sheriff's office said it will keep residents informed about any future use of surveillance technology but set no timeline for next steps.
