Douglas County considers $22.7 million AI surveillance expansion plan
Douglas County commissioners were weighing a 10-year, $22.7 million plan for more plate readers, 22 AI drones and new software as critics demand privacy safeguards.
Douglas County commissioners were set to weigh a 10-year, $22.7 million surveillance expansion in Castle Rock, a package that would nearly double fixed license plate readers, add 22 AI drones and bring in new software for county law enforcement.
The proposal came before the Board of County Commissioners in the Commissioners’ Hearing Room at 100 Third Street, where business meetings are held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 1:30 p.m. Meeting agendas are posted through the county’s public portal no later than the Friday before each meeting.
State Rep. Bob Marshall is urging commissioners to reject the expansion, citing privacy concerns and the lack of public comment on the consent agenda. Commissioners removed the general public comment period from regular business meetings in February, a move that drew criticism from residents and two state lawmakers and became part of an open-meetings-related lawsuit.
Sheriff Darren Weekly has defended Douglas County’s Flock license plate reader network since May 2025, saying the cameras help catch crimes such as burglaries and sex offenses near schools. Weekly also said the county’s cameras helped deputies catch a robbery suspect from another jurisdiction. On May 7, 2025, a Flock alert flagged a stolen vehicle at 9:45 p.m., leading to a pursuit that ended in a crash near Centennial Airport.
Colorado lawmakers considered bills in 2026 to require warrants for some license plate reader searches and to limit data sharing and retention, but the effort stalled after law-enforcement opposition.
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