Bartlesville City Council approves new restrictions on license plate cameras, keeps 30-day data storage rule

The Bartlesville City Council has voted to continue using license plate reading cameras throughout the city, but added several new regulations aimed at addressing public concerns over privacy and data sharing.

The ordinance passed in a narrow 3-2 vote following a lengthy discussion and resident input during Monday night’s council meeting.

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One of the most notable changes is that data collected by the FLOCK camera system will no longer be shared automatically with federal agencies. The Bartlesville Police Department can still share data if needed, but only on a case-by-case basis.

The new ordinance includes several key changes:

1. Automatic data sharing with federal agencies is now prohibited.
2. Any new features or upgrades to the FLOCK camera system must be approved by the city council.
3. A proposal to limit data retention to 7 days or less was rejected.
4. A proposed citywide vote on whether to keep the cameras was denied.

Many residents voiced concerns about how long the data is stored, calling for shorter retention periods. However, Bartlesville Police Chief Kevin Ickleberry strongly opposed limiting storage to anything less than 30 days.

“Thirty days is perfect, and the reason I say that is a lot of crimes go undiscovered for two weeks, three weeks, and then they are discovered,” Ickleberry said. “The data rolls off every day. One day falls off, and one comes on. It rotates out. It would render the system useless, quite honestly.”

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Chief Ickleberry also pointed out that the system has already helped solve serious cases.

The 30-day storage policy will remain in place, and the council also voted against placing the issue on a future ballot as a city charter amendment.

While the idea of banning the cameras altogether was brought up during the discussion, that option was never formally considered for a vote.

Currently, Bartlesville has 10 FLOCK cameras in place. Under the updated ordinance, the city may install up to 20 total.

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