Missouri agencies that run automated license plate readers must now delete most of what they gather within 30 days. Executive Order 26-18 was signed September 16 by Governor Mike Kehoe. It instructs the Department of Public Safety to draft temporary privacy standards covering state and state-funded local agencies, Flock Safety cameras included.
The retention cap is only one piece of the order. Vendors are barred from selling or sharing Missouri footage, and from making money on it in any other way. Lookups are limited to criminal justice and lifesaving work. Agencies have to stand up auditing and accountability systems so unauthorized searches can be caught and disciplined. Facial recognition cannot be wired into the plate readers either.
Kehoe framed the issue as a constitutional one and questioned whether government should hold “a permanent record of where law-abiding Missourians go, who they visit, or how they live their daily lives.”
Mark James, who directs the Department of Public Safety, said the framework hands officers modern tools while preserving civil liberties.
Municipal and county departments that receive state money are covered too, alongside state agencies. Agencies holding their own vendor contracts were asked to adopt the limits voluntarily, and Kehoe’s office said it will work with lawmakers on a permanent statutory framework. Missouri is not alone in rethinking these networks, which have drawn scrutiny over improper lookups and indefinite storage.
