Butler Privacy Project
We're asking the Liberty Township Trustees to remove the township-funded license plate reader cameras. Pausing them and releasing the records are steps toward that goal, not a stopping point.
Liberty residents are paying for these cameras through the township's police-service funding. Released records now confirm the deal: a signed January 2026 order for 10 Flock license plate readers at $30,000 a year, on a 36-month term that renews automatically unless someone gives 30 days' notice. The reported cost was accurate, and the exit ramp is written into the contract.
That makes it a township decision. The Sheriff's Office may run the cameras day to day, but the Trustees control whether Liberty keeps writing the check. So the Trustees are who we're asking.
This isn't about being against the police. It's about consent, privacy, and keeping an eye on how public money buys surveillance.
Every entry below comes from Liberty's own meeting records, released public records, or attributed local reporting.
Sources for every entry — Liberty's posted minutes and budgets, the released contract documents, ICE's published MOA, and the news reports — are linked on the Evidence page and the Records page.
We're asking the Board of Trustees to put a resolution on the agenda that would:
Because doing nothing is now a decision. The signed order runs 36 months and renews itself automatically unless someone gives 30 days' notice — and the county commissioners' approval behind it, capped at $29,000 and effective only "December 2024 to December 2026," lapses at the end of this year while the $90,000 order keeps going. Removal doesn't require a legal fight; it requires the will to act, and the Trustees meet twice a month.
And it's already happening here. On August 18, 2026, Oxford — in this same county — voted 6–1 to terminate its Flock contract after concluding that even sharply restricted sharing wasn't enough. Other Ohio communities have run into the same problems with how this data gets shared and who's watching it. Liberty doesn't need to wait for its own version of that before acting.
And the system rarely stays put. Flock's product line already includes vehicle-fingerprint search, video analytics, audio detection, and drone tie-ins. The question isn't only what the cameras do today. It's what the township is signing up to expand later.
The August 2026 records responses settled several of our original questions. The released documents are published in full on the Records page.
What are the contract terms, renewal date, and cancellation clause?
Answered: 10 cameras at $30,000/yr on a 36-month order signed Jan 22, 2026 that AUTO-RENEWS unless either party gives 30 days' notice. Ending it takes a letter, not a lawsuit.
Which agency owns, operates, and administers the cameras?
Answered: BCSO is the contracting party (per the Township's own letter), BCSO administrators control access, and Flock installs, maintains, and hosts everything.
How long is the data kept, and can that be extended?
Answered: Flock purges at 30 days — but BCSO's policy lets it download data and keep it longer under its own schedules.
Are searches limited to specific crimes, or can anyone type in a reason?
Answered: no reasonable suspicion or probable cause is required. Any 'official and legitimate law enforcement business' qualifies; each search logs a CAD or case number.
Are the audit logs reviewed independently, and are the results public?
Answered: no and no. One random internal audit a year, memo'd to the Chief Deputy. Our request for the logs themselves was denied.
Is outside sharing possible, and who decides?
Partly answered: BCSO administrators may grant access to other law enforcement agencies at their discretion, with no limits stated in the policy, and the package includes state and nationwide plate lookup.
These questions remain open — most because BCSO denied the audit and search-log request in full. Our narrowed follow-up requests press them directly.
I'm a Liberty Township resident, and I'm asking the Board of Trustees to end the township-funded Flock license plate reader program and remove the cameras.
I'm not against the police. I support real investigations. I don't support keeping a searchable record of where ordinary residents drive when none of us are suspected of anything, and I don't think turning off a few settings fixes that. The system itself is the risk.
We're paying for a system that logs people who've done nothing wrong, stores it with a private company, and may hand it to outside agencies. Other Ohio towns have already canceled contracts like this one, so removal here is realistic, not just wishful.
Please release the contract and policies so residents can see the records, and in the meantime, pause the cameras and shut off outside sharing as interim protection. But please treat removal as the goal, not disclosure alone.
These are the officials who decide whether Liberty keeps funding the cameras. Contact information is published by the township. We don't list anyone's position until they've stated it on the record.
Liberty Township Trustee (President)
Official public contact information published by Liberty Township.
Liberty Township Trustee (Vice President)
Official public contact information published by Liberty Township.
Liberty Township Trustee
Official public contact information published by Liberty Township.
Add your name and help make this a public decision instead of a quiet renewal.