08/19/2026
Council Member McKee Releases Data Analysis on Troy ALPR Retention Period
TROY, NY –August 18, 2026 – As Troy's City Council prepares to vote on proposed limits to its automated license plate reader system, a central question has remained unsettled. How long do police actually need to retain the data to conduct effective investigations? Council Member Noreen McKee released two detailed reports today that provide an empirical answer. The analysis weighs law enforcement capability against residents' privacy rights and will inform the council's deliberations on Local Law #3 this September.
"The data answers the question posed in May," McKee said. “It establishes what the retention window needs to be for police to conduct investigations. But the retention period is also the line between keeping data you need and keeping data you don't. Troy has 26 Flock ALPR cameras capturing every vehicle entering and leaving the city, 24/7. If police keep that data longer than it’s actually used to solve crimes, you're holding movement logs on innocent residents. At that point it's not investigation—it's surveillance. Research shows that the longer data is retained, the more it can reconstruct someone's routines and predict their movements. It also increases risk of misuse and exposure to breaches. That's why we need binding guardrails on retention."
The Troy Police Department currently retains camera data for 30 days. The proposed legislation would reduce retention to 48 hours, with limited exceptions. The data now available suggests that timeframe is sufficient for the vast majority of investigative work. The data shows that 96% of crimes are reported within 48 hours of occurrence. Sixty-four percent of data searches occurred within that timeframe, increasing to 79% at 72 hours.
Local Law #3 proposes to establish data retention limits and restrict sharing. The Public Safety Committee will review both reports this Thursday, August 20, at 5:45 p.m. at Troy City Hall. The council plans to vote on the legislation in September. See details in comments.
