Agency reported keeping license plate data for 90 days
(The Center Square) – One Virginia law enforcement agency reported keeping data from mobile license plate cameras for 90 days, more than four times the 21 days state law generally allows. The Virginia State Crime Commission presented the finding Thursday in a report based on its August survey. Seven agencies reported keeping license plate reader data beyond 21 days, down from 33 in the previous survey. Virginia law generally requires agencies to delete the records 21 days after a camera captures them. Agencies must keep records longer if they are part of an ongoing investigation, prosecution or civil case. Six agencies reported keeping data from fixed cameras for 27 to 30 days. The report did not identify which agency reported keeping mobile camera data for 90 days. The seven agencies were the Covington Police Department, the Page and Surry county sheriff’s offices, and the police departments in Boones Mill, Cedar Bluff, Parksley and Victoria. The report did not explain why the agencies reported retention periods longer than 21 days or say whether any of the records qualified for an exception under state law. The commission heard from 351 of 359 agencies, up from 251 of 361 in the previous survey.
