The rules for license plate cameras
How Milton works · Lesson 8
Milton’s police use license plate cameras that photograph passing cars. Georgia has one law that governs every agency that uses them. Here’s what it says, and what it doesn’t.
What the law requires
- Law enforcement only. The data must be stored as soon as it’s collected and “not accessed except for a law enforcement purpose.”
- A 30-month limit. It must be destroyed “no later than 30 months” after collection, unless it’s tied to a toll violation or a law enforcement purpose.
- Sharing. Agencies may share it with other law enforcement agencies, for law enforcement purposes.
- A written policy. Every agency using the cameras “shall maintain policies for the use and operation of such system,” including training for officers.
- Misuse is a crime. Getting or using the data for any other purpose is “a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.”
- Not a public record. The captured data itself is exempt from the Open Records Act. The city’s contracts, invoices and policies about the cameras are not.
O.C.G.A. 35-1-22, in effect since 2018.
What the law leaves out
The policy requirement carries no penalty of its own, and the law names no agency to check that a policy exists. It doesn’t require a city council to vote on the cameras, and it doesn’t require audits or public reports. Those are choices each city makes on its own.
How Milton fits
Milton keeps its camera data for 365 days, inside the 30-month limit. Who decided that, and how, is the subject of our reporting in The Camera Files.
Quick check
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How long can a Georgia agency keep plate reader data, at most?
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What is it to use plate reader data for a non-law-enforcement purpose?
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Can you get the captured plate data itself through an open records request?
