As Wyomingites across the state amplify their concerns over license plate reader cameras, people are reporting devices to camera-mapping site Deflock.org that might not actually be license plate readers.
New entries for Deflock.org peg Cody, Gillette, and Lusk as places that have license plate readers.
Law enforcement agencies in Cody and Gillette both say they’re not using license plate readers.
In the case of Cody, a quick-lube mechanic shop owner said the camera reported as a license plate reader is a vehicle counter, which he had installed to tout the shop's area traffic volume in case he ever wants to sell his business.
In the case of Gillette, the police department and sheriff’s office both say they’re not using license plate readers, while the Wyoming Department of Transportation speculated the devices — mapped at the town’s busiest intersection — could be traffic signal monitors.
But Lusk is using license plate readers, and the Deflock entry on that little town is correct, Lusk Police Chief Jacob Gordon confirmed Wednesday to Cowboy State Daily.
First, Lusk
Gordon said he started the installation project for the town’s two license plate readers — both from Motorola’s Vigilant line rather than the better-known Flock brand — about three years ago.
Town residents brought questions and minimal resistance to that, Gordon recalled. He said he addressed people’s concerns by describing the cameras’ limited vantage.
The chief said he started the project after going to a training in Nebraska while he was still a sergeant with the departmentand heard how a mobile license plate reader in a deputy’s vehicle had thwarted a predator who’d kidnapped a girl.
“That really resonated with me on what these cameras can do and what resources they are, to help police in investigations,” said Gordon.
The highway that case involved is similar to the one passing through Lusk, he added.
Gordon said his agency focuses the cameras toward addressing human trafficking, kidnapping, stolen vehicle and drug investigations.
He said “the cell service up north gets pretty rough and we just were having complaints about people being run off the road, trying to run off the road single women that were driving.”
A Wide Net
The intel system linked to the cameras is a useful resource, said Gordon.
Agencies can flag suspect or sought vehicles, and other agencies notice those hits when the license plates cross their cameras.
Beyond that, Gordon said an agent who is linked to other agencies via memorandum of understanding can search for recent logged locations on a license plate number that has not yet been flagged.
He said Lusk Police Department has around 2,800 memoranda of understanding with other agencies, and he’s been able to help Wyoming agencies like Rock Springs get information from that large network to discern the general direction of suspect vehicles.
Lusk PD’s data system stores information for 30 days, said Gordon.
He said the police have two stationary, pole cameras mounted in town right now.
One of those, logged correctly in the Deflock.org map, is at the Ranchers Feed Supply store.
A store manager who declined to be identified by name walked outside and confirmed there’s a camera there during a Tuesday interview with Cowboy State Daily. She voiced surprise, as if noticing the device for the first time.
Lusk PD has another camera “farther south” around the town entrance, said Gordon.
He cast the people of Lusk as a check on any potential abuses of the system.
“If we start utilizing (the system) as an overreach or, you know, it’s not working the way we thought, we’ll just take them down and be done,” Gordon said.
But for now, he added, “The system isn’t that invasive, but assists in those types of serious issues, and can assist in saving people’s lives. I think it’s super beneficial.”
Louder In Green River
The people of Green River appear to have brought much more pushback than the people of Lusk.
Outspoken Green River residents earlier this month halted their police chief’s bid to install license plate readers at town entrances.
Gregory Sherwin, who identified himself as a lifelong resident of Green River, cast the system as just another slow, well-intentioned erosion of freedom during a July 7 meeting of the City Council.
He urged the council to “defend these principles of due process, presumption of innocence and freedom of association — and the simple right to move about our communities without being constantly monitored, analyzed and profiled.”
Sherwin added, “These are not outdated ideals. They’re the foundation of a free people.”
Besides Lusk, the Wyoming communities of Cheyenne, Jackson, Glenrock, and the Wind River Indian Reservation all have license plate reader cameras in place.
Gillette Says Nope
Campbell County Sheriff Scott Matheny and Gillette Deputy Chief of Police Brent Wasson both told Cowboy State Daily their agencies don’t use license plate readers.
Someone logged a Flock Safety brand camera at the intersection of East Boxelder Road and South Douglas Highway.
“That’s a state highway. I would assume that is state infrastructure,” said Wasson in a Tuesday phone interview. “I don’t have any idea. I can tell you we don’t (have any cameras).”
The Wyoming Department of Transportation also said it doesn’t have any cameras there.
The agency had already given to Cowboy State Daily all its known highway right of way license plate reader sites pursuant to a records request, said WYDOT public relations manager Doug McGee.
McGee said the devices logged at the intersection could be traffic control sensors.
“Our Traffic Program has a Pan-Tilt-Zoom camera in that area that allows us to remotely monitor signal operations. We do not store any images from these types of cameras,” he said in a Tuesday email. “The image supplied on DeFlock does look similar to that camera, but not knowing the source, I can't be certain.”
Matheny went to the site himself to answer Cowboy State Daily’s inquiry.
They looked like traffic motion sensors for the stoplights to him, said the sheriff.
“I don’t see anything else that would indicate an LP reader,” added Matheny.
Counting Cars In Cody
A Deflock.org user logged an alleged Motorola license plate reader for Cody’s intersection of Yellowstone Avenue and Conifer Lane.
That’s actually a car counter, said Jared Friess, owner of quick-lube style car shop Majestic Lube.
“So, we’re a chain of quick-lubes, so when you buy quick-lubes, the most important thing is traffic counts,” said Friess. "Because they base (market value) on volume.”
He said he had the car counter installed so he has a value marker to tout if he ever wants to sell the business.
He said the devices are confined to the subscriptions people buy for them, and his subscription is only for counting cars. He confirmed the device is a Motorola.
“Any big chains like Autozone or anything will have that,” he said. “No one who owns these types of stores will buy one unless there’s data of how many vehicles pass through the business.”
Cody Police Department Lt. Juston Wead said the agency doesn’t have any license plate readers.
And, “no, we are not in the process of looking into them at all,” he added.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
