Pause
Stop using the township-funded cameras while the records and policies are made public.
Pause. Disclose. Remove.
Liberty Township is paying for cameras that track everyone. Residents deserve a say.
Butler Privacy Project is a resident-led effort for transparency and accountability on the automated license plate reader cameras funded in Liberty Township and used across Butler County.
This is not anti-police. We back real investigations. We just don't think a private company should hold a searchable record of where ordinary people drive, with no public vote and no independent check.
The core distinction
A deputy spotting one plate on one road is not the same as a database that remembers where your car has been for months.
Right now: records requests are filed and a resident petition is underway.
The ask: pause the cameras, turn off outside sharing, release the records, and vote in public on whether to keep them.
What is the issue?
Liberty Township is paying for automated license plate reader cameras that photograph vehicles as they move through the community. Local reporting stated that the township was adding 10 Flock rear license plate readers at an annual cost of about $30,000, with the cost added to its payments to the Butler County Sheriff's Office. The current cost, contract terms, renewal status, and camera count remain pending records responses.
These cameras don't just flag suspects. They log the movements of everyone who drives past, and that information sits in a searchable database run by a private company. Most of the people in it have done nothing wrong.
A township-wide tracking system is not routine equipment. Before it keeps running, residents should get straight answers about the contract, who can search the data, and how that use is checked, along with a public vote.
What we're asking the Trustees to do
Disclose
Release the contract, invoices, policies, sharing settings, and audit records, including who outside the township can search the data.
Remove
Vote in public to end or not renew the Flock program and take down the township-funded cameras.
Why it matters
It records everyone
The cameras capture ordinary residents, workers, and visitors, not just people under investigation.
It builds a history
One plate read is one moment. A stored, searchable database is a map of where your car has been over time.
Residents never agreed
A tracking system this broad deserved public notice, real debate, and a trustee vote before it went in.
Outside access is unclear
Residents should know exactly which agencies can pull Liberty-funded data, under what rules, and how those searches are audited.
Records may be shielded
Ohio law may keep the raw plate data itself out of public view, which makes disclosure of the contract, policies, and audits even more important.
Security is a real risk
A private surveillance database is a target. Expanding one without independent review and strict access controls invites trouble.
What's happened elsewhere in Ohio
Liberty Township doesn't have to wait for its own problem before answering basic questions. Other Ohio communities already have.
Ohio · 2026
Dayton, Ohio
In 2026, Dayton stopped using its Flock camera data and covered the cameras after an audit found thousands of immigration-related searches by outside agencies, which the city said broke its own policy. Dayton later released the audit data to the public.
Dayton Daily News Ohio · 2026
Cleveland, Ohio
In June 2026, a Cleveland City Council committee voted against renewing the city's Flock contract. Members questioned whether the license plate readers were actually improving public safety before spending more on them.
Signal ClevelandWhere things stand
Records requests filed
3
Sent to
Liberty Township & the Sheriff's Office
Next meeting
Typically 1st & 3rd Tue, 6:00 p.m.
Current phase
Records requests filed
Last updated July 8, 2026.
Ask Liberty Township to pause, disclose, and remove.
Add your name and help make this a public decision instead of a quiet renewal.