WINDSOR, CT- The joke is on you, Windsor town council.
This week, the town council in Windsor, CT., a small town bordering the capital city (and crime capital of Connecticut) of Hartford, decided that they were going to pause the use of the town’s automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras after some residents raised “privacy” concerns over the devices at recent meetings, CT News Junkie reports.
The town currently has a contract with Flock Safety, one of the leading companies that provides such cameras to police departments and communities nationwide, and is the most widely used system. The council voted 8-1 to pause the contract, which is up for renewal in May.
Over the past few years, the use of such cameras has spread throughout the state, and while there is no state oversight of the deployment, it is believed that about 40 local police departments use them. Windsor received a grant in 2019 to install ALPR cameras on two police cruisers. In 2022, the department began deploying fixed Flock Safety cameras in strategic areas in town.
In a summary presented to the town council on January 5, 2026, Chief Donald Melanson wrote that the fixed cameras “are installed on public rights-of-way near major intersections and roadways that lead into and out of town, and other strategic points where traffic is high. Camera locations were determined using police department incident data along with input from our detective division.”
The memo noted that a setting on the camera allowed for “nationwide lookup,” and this setting was enabled.
“This enabled WPD personnel to search nationwide if their case necessitated a wider search than just the State of Connecticut,” Melanson wrote. “[u]nbeknownst to the department, this also allowed law enforcement agencies across the country, who also utilized this setting to access Windsor’s license plate data without receiving specific permission from police administration.”
That, of course, raised concerns because one of those law enforcement agencies was Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a source told Law Enforcement Today. And, in a blue state like Connecticut, infested with liberals, that is simply too much to bear.
One does not have to connect too many dots to realize that the true reason Windsor officials have their collective panties in a bunch is that those “evil ICE agents” might come across a violent rapist from Nicaragua who was traveling the streets of Windsor. And in a sanctuary state, criminals must be protected.
It doesn’t matter that Chief Melanson, in his memo, praised the use of ALPR technology.
“The use of ALPR technology enhances public safety in Windsor,” Melanson wrote. “Police officers use this technology daily to alert officers of stolen vehicles and wanted persons traveling in Windsor. Authorized law enforcement personnel can also search the system when there is a legitimate investigative reason. Every search is logged and recorded for accountability.”
At that meeting, the town council adopted a policy directing how the cameras are to be used, which included that the policy was “meant to protect ‘the privacy, dignity, civil rights, and personal information of all residents.’” Including illegal aliens who may be traveling down the interstate or traversing the town’s streets.
At the meeting where it was decided to shut the cameras off, one councilor expressed “concerns” with Flock.
“The current contract does not meet the town policy that we have passed recently, and we recognize that there are some serious concerns with Flock as a company,” council member Ojana Naeem complained. “But I believe there are tools and solutions for our police department that we need to look at and have in place to support their ability to not only solve crimes, but also stop crimes from happening.”
Unless they are illegal aliens.
ALPR cameras take photos of the rear license plate of every vehicle that drives by. Proponents of the technology credit it with helping solve and prevent crimes and locate missing persons. Opponents (and here is the key) worry that departments nationwide, federal agencies, and immigration officials are gathering the data. [emphasis added]
One local liberal, Art Miller, told the council during public comment, “Behind every [license] plate is a human story.” [emphasis added]
Yes, human trafficking, sexual assault, murder, drug running…you know, human stories. Certainly not behind “every license plate” but behind enough to be useful for public safety.
Meanwhile, another resident, Jeremy Halek, supports the cameras, noting that cameras are everywhere and ALPRs have been useful for police.
“We should be doing everything we can to support our local, state, and federal police in doing their job,” Halek said.
As one might expect, the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut asked for a moratorium on the use of the cameras last year, until the state legislature (with anti-police, pro-criminal Democrats holding a supermajority) can pass legislation to prevent the “misuse, sharing, and selling of driver-location data.”
The ACLU absurdly claimed the cameras put residents at risk, including immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and women seeking reproductive or “gender-affirming” care out of state.
The far-left ACLU did not explain how ALPR cameras put LGBTQ+ people and women “at risk.” Illegal aliens? That’s good with LET.
Sources told Law Enforcement Today that, regardless of who owns ALPR cameras, the data remains accessible.
So, for all the bloviating and hand-wringing of Windsor town officials, if ICE wants the information, they can still get it. Sorry liberals.
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