FLOCK/ALPR - It's in the budget!

MONROE TOWNSHIP, GLOUCESTER COUNTY, NJ - Public records confirm that automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology has been included in Monroe Township's municipal budget and that the township police department has been identified in a statewide ALPR audit.

Independent surveillance mapping also identifies devices associated with Flock Safety and Motorola Solutions within the township.

Yet important questions remain about ownership, installation dates, operating status, taxpayer costs and public oversight.

Residents have reported that Mayor Gregory Wolfe denied the township had such cameras. The exact statement, including its date and context, has not yet been independently verified.

If the administration maintains that Monroe has no ALPR program, how does it reconcile that position with the official state records?

Monroe Township's adopted 2021 Municipal Budget contains a specific capital project:

“PD - LISENCE PLATE READER” -  $30,000

The line appears on Sheet 40b, Capital Budget, under police department projects.

This is not a general information technology appropriation. It specifically identifies license plate reading equipment as a planned municipal expenditure.

The project was included during the administration of then-Mayor Richard DiLucia. Its presence in that budget does not establish when equipment was purchased, whether all $30,000 was spent, or whether subsequent administrations continued or expanded the program.

Source [1]: Township of Monroe, 2021 Adopted Municipal Budget, Sheet 40b.

The New Jersey State Police's 2024 audit of ALPR data, released in July 2025, identifies:

“Monroe Township Police Department - Gloucester County”

The department appears among agencies submitting ALPR compliance certifications.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation's Atlas of Surveillance independently indexes this official audit and identifies the Gloucester County department as having an ALPR program.

This is particularly significant because the records distinguish Monroe Township in Gloucester County from the municipality with the same name in Middlesex County.

The audit establishes documented participation in ALPR oversight. It does not publish the precise number of installed cameras, equipment manufacturers, contract costs or operational status of individual devices.

Sources [2] and [3]: New Jersey State Police 2024 ALPR Audit; EFF Atlas of Surveillance.

Independent camera-mapping projects identify four ALPR device locations within Monroe Township, Gloucester County.

Three are identified as Flock Safety devices and one as a Motorola Solutions device.

The information comes from community-maintained mapping datasets, including DeFlock and OpenStreetMap, and is summarized by MyTownView.

These observations provide a legitimate basis for investigation, but they are not equivalent to municipal purchasing records or official confirmation that every mapped camera is currently functioning.

The publicly available mapping does not conclusively identify who owns the equipment, which agency has access, or whether Monroe Township pays for every device.

Source [4]: MyTownView, Monroe Township (Gloucester) Surveillance Records, September 2026.

Automated license plate readers can photograph vehicles, extract license plate numbers, associate observations with dates and locations, and compare collected information against law enforcement databases.

Depending on the equipment and software, ALPR systems may help police identify stolen vehicles, locate vehicles associated with investigations and generate alerts.

Such technology can provide important public safety benefits.

However, the use of ALPR systems also raises legitimate questions about the collection, retention, sharing and security of vehicle-location information.

New Jersey regulates law enforcement use of ALPR data through Attorney General directives, including Directive 2022-12.

Residents deserve to know how those requirements are implemented locally.

Source [5]: New Jersey Attorney General, Directive 2022-12 and statewide ALPR audit reporting.

The existence of an ALPR-related budget item and the department's documented participation in statewide ALPR oversight justify a complete public accounting.

Monroe Township officials should disclose:

1. Purchasing: What ALPR equipment has the township purchased, leased or obtained through another government agency since 2021?
2. Vendors: Does Monroe Township have contracts, subscriptions or equipment agreements with Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions, Vigilant Solutions or related vendors?
3. Costs: How much has been spent on hardware, installation, software, licensing, maintenance and renewals?
4. Deployment: How many ALPR devices are installed, and how many are currently operating?
5. Access: Which local, county, state or federal agencies may access Monroe Township ALPR information?
6. Retention: How long is the data retained, and what safeguards govern searches and disclosure?
7. Oversight: Which municipal officials authorized purchases or agreements, and when were they disclosed to the public?
8. Public statements: Has the mayor or administration previously denied the existence of ALPR technology? If so, what precisely was being denied—municipal ownership, a particular vendor, a specific camera or the entire ALPR program?

Supporting law enforcement and demanding government accountability are not competing positions.

License plate recognition technology may help officers solve serious crimes and recover stolen vehicles. Those potential benefits deserve recognition.

At the same time, the public has a legitimate interest in understanding the financial and privacy implications of equipment deployed in its community.

The township should be able to identify the authorizing records, explain who owns and operates the systems, and provide appropriate transparency without exposing sensitive investigative procedures.

The evidence reviewed establishes that Monroe Township budgeted for license plate reader equipment in 2021 and that its police department subsequently appeared in the state's ALPR audit.

Independent maps also identify Flock Safety and Motorola-labeled devices within township boundaries.

What remains unresolved is the complete history of procurement, deployment, ownership, operational status and taxpayer expenditures.

If public money was spent and public technology was deployed, the public deserves a clear explanation of who authorized it, what it cost and how it is governed.

Monroe Township residents should not have to piece together answers from old municipal budgets, state audits and volunteer-maintained camera maps.

Transparency is not a threat to public safety. It is a fundamental responsibility of public government.

[1] Official 2021 Municipal Budget - Monroe Township, Gloucester County. Sheet 40b, capital project “PD - LISENCE PLATE READER,” $30,000.

https://monroetownshipnj.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-Municipal-Budget-Adopted.pdf

[2] New Jersey State Police - 2024 ALPR Audit. Appendix A identifies Monroe Township Police Department, Gloucester County, among the agencies submitting audit certifications.

https://www.njoag.gov/attorney-general-platkin-and-new-jersey-state-police-release-audit-of-alpr-data/

[3] Electronic Frontier Foundation - Atlas of Surveillance. Entry identifying the Gloucester County Monroe Township Police Department's ALPR program.

https://www.atlasofsurveillance.org/a/NJ0081100ALPR

[4] MyTownView - Monroe Township Surveillance Mapping. Community-mapped Flock Safety and Motorola Solutions devices, with operator and contract limitations noted.

https://mytownview.com/new-jersey/gloucester/monroe-township-gloucester/community/surveillance

[5] New Jersey Attorney General - Statewide ALPR Oversight. Official explanation of ALPR purposes, audit requirements and statewide oversight.

https://www.njoag.gov/attorney-general-platkin-and-new-jersey-state-police-release-audit-of-alpr-data/