· Tempe, AZ · Ban
Tempe becomes the first Arizona city to ban police use of license plate readers
On Thursday night, Oct. 15, 2026, the Tempe City Council voted 6-1 to approve an ordinance that bars the city, including the Tempe Police Department, from buying, operating, accessing or contracting for automated license plate reader systems and data for law enforcement, outside a few limited exceptions, AZFamily, ABC15 and KTAR News reported. Vice Mayor Arlene Chin cast the lone no vote; Councilmember Brooke St. George spoke in favor before voting yes. Outlets reported that this makes Tempe the first Arizona city to enact such a ban. Tempe had already canceled its Flock Safety contract and switched off about 33 city-owned cameras in August; the ordinance writes that decision into city code. AZFamily reported the ban does not affect about 20 Flock cameras on Arizona State University's Tempe campus. Under the exceptions, the city can still obtain plate-reader data through a search warrant, subpoena or court order, and can receive data from courts, criminal defendants, members of the public, private companies or other agencies tied to a specific investigation, as long as city officials did not request or direct the original search. Officers on regional task forces may review data lawfully obtained by another agency if Tempe did not prompt the query. Non-law-enforcement uses such as parking management are still allowed if residents' location and personal information are not shared with private parties or added to searchable databases. Existing plate-reader data must be destroyed unless it is evidence in a criminal case or must legally be kept, and city employees who violate the ordinance face consequences up to termination. Councilmember Bobby Nichols introduced the ordinance in September and noted that audits found no evidence of Flock misuse by Tempe police; Police Chief Ken McCoy opposed the ban at the Sept. 24 first hearing, saying there have been crimes the department could not solve since the technology was decommissioned.
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