Chief Frisz Applauds Kehoe’s Executive Order on License Plate Readers
St. Charles County Police Chief Kurt Frisz is applauding Governor Mike Kehoe’s recent executive order on license plate reader (LPR) cameras, saying the department’s own rules already meet or surpass the new standards.
On Sept. 16, Kehoe’s executive order stated that he wants to protect the public from privacy violations by LPR cameras, while preserving legitimate law enforcement uses of the technology.
“Protecting citizens also means protecting their constitutional rights,” Kehoe says. “The unchecked collection and indefinite storage of location data belonging to law-abiding citizens raises substantial, valid constitutional and privacy concerns. The government should not be building a permanent record of where law-abiding Missourians go, who they visit, or how they live their daily lives.”
The governor’s order directs the Missouri Department of Public Safety to establish statewide safeguards for state agencies and state-funded local law enforcement entities using LPR technology. Any misuse of LPR technology shall trigger immediate disciplinary proceedings, criminal referral where appropriate, and a mandatory report to the director of DPS for officer license revocation or discipline.
Until the General Assembly establishes a permanent law governing LPR use, the executive order requires the following minimum standards:
- Requiring most license plate and vehicle data to be permanently deleted within 30 days;
- Prohibiting vendors from selling, sharing, or commercializing Missouri-generated data;
- Limiting the use of LPR technology to legitimate criminal justice and lifesaving purposes;
- Requiring accountability measures to prevent and penalize misuse;
- Prohibiting the integration of artificial intelligence facial recognition technology with LPR systems.
Chief Frisz says our department has stricter protocols than the executive order on when a license plate can be looked up.
“We require two sets of eyes before an inquiry can be made in the system on a license plate,” Frisz says.
St. Charles County has also severed its contract with the Flock brand LPR system, after an internal audit in August found an employee had misused the system.
Meanwhile, the chief is defending the County’s ongoing use of LPR cameras through a different company, which has stricter privacy protocols than Flock. The remaining 150-plus LPR cameras require two people to authorize all license plate lookups, including an officer from the multi-agency Regional Information and Intelligence Center (RIIC). All requests for lookups require a case number or investigative reason for accountability and tracking.
“No one can just log on and start looking up whoever they want,” Frisz says.
Frisz says LPR cameras have become a vital crime-fighting asset for County Police, helping solve 30-50 felony cases every year.
Here are some of the most serious crimes among dozens solved with the help of LPRs:
- 2018 – Murder. The victim’s body was dumped in the northern part of St. Charles County and set on fire. During the investigation, detectives searched for the victim’s vehicle using LPRs and spotted the victim’s vehicle in St. Louis City hours after the homicide. The break came when a detective noticed the same vehicle following the victim’s vehicle at 11 p.m. and again at 2 a.m., in different parts of the city. Obviously, the chance of that happening is extremely slim. The plate on the following vehicle led to the suspect in the homicide and helped make the arrest.
- November 2023 – Armed Robbery. Stolen vehicle spotted by LPR. The vehicle was wanted for an armed robbery put out by the Regional Information and Intelligence Center (RIIC). After a pursuit with St. Charles County Police, the vehicle was stopped and recovered, and the suspect was taken into custody by O’Fallon Police. The suspect was also in possession of a stolen handgun.
- February 2025 – Stabbing. Victim was stabbed in the parking lot of the St. Andrews Plaza. A suspect was identified with the help of an LPR placing his vehicle in the area of the crime before and after. DNA evidence found at the scene also helped make the case. Upon taking the suspect into custody, the suspect admitted he was either going to stab someone or shoot up a school.
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