Interim Cincinnati Police Chief Adam Hennie says he wants to expand the use of surveillance technology, as well as how long some data is retained. That's as City Council considers restrictions on data retention and sharing.
Hennie presented to Council's Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, as part of a response to Council's motion requesting a review of how the city uses surveillance technology.
"I know that this board has decisions that need to be made," Hennie told Council members. "I can tell you, as your interim chief, that this technology is extremely important to us."
Hennie says technology has improved efficiency and is a major factor in reducing crime, pointing to a near-record low number of homicides so far in 2026.
Council members largely praised the department's use of surveillance, but a few asked pointed questions and expressed broad concerns.
"I don't think that this surveillance state solutioning is always the right thing for our city," said Council member Ryan James. "We will not always be the people in these positions making these decisions. There will be times where other people, that I may or may not have trust in, are going to be the executors of these accountability decisions."
Council passed a motion last month directing city administration to prepare an ordinance putting limits on surveillance technology data retention and sharing policies, and requiring City Council approval for related contracts.
Council member Anna Albi introduced that motion. A representative from her office tells WVXU they are working with the law department to draft the ordinance, but it's not yet clear when it will be ready for discussion and a vote.
Council member Scotty Johnson, a former police officer and current chair of the Public Safety Committee, strongly denounced the idea of limiting surveillance technology in any way.
"I believe in a balancing act, absolutely, but I do not believe in acquiescing and bowing down to everybody that has a problem with surveillance and cameras," Johnson said, adding public concern about surveillance should be focused on private companies.
"There are people that feel like, 'Oh my gosh, there's a drone over me. Is that Big Brother watching me?' You're in America. Welcome to America in 2026. Every time you use your phone, you're subject to somebody watching you."
Surveillance concerns & city response
Many jurisdictions in Greater Cincinnati have halted or canceled contracts with Flock Safety over concerns about misuse of the AI-powered automatic license plate readers. As NPR reports, some cities realized their contracts with Flock allowed federal agencies, including U.S. Border Patrol, to search their data.
Cincinnati does not use Flock Safety technology, but contracts with Axon for mobile license plate readers (attached to police cruisers) and with Motorola for stationary license plate readers. Cincinnati Police also use security cameras, body-worn cameras, and drones.
Macie Grisemer is advocacy manager for Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio. She urged Council to ensure the city's surveillance data isn't accessible to other agencies that may use it to prosecute people traveling here for an abortion because they can't access it in their own state.
"These patients are not breaking any laws by coming here, and yet they're afraid of what may happen if word gets back to their home state. Concerns about surveillance and data sharing add to this fear. We can't change the patchwork of abortion laws in this country from within these chambers, but we can make sure patients who come to Cincinnati know that their private medical decisions will remain private," Grisemer said.
Generally speaking, Hennie says all the contracts for surveillance technology ensure that the city owns the data, meaning no other agencies have direct access. The department gets requests from other jurisdictions related to specific cases and chooses whether to share the information on a case-by-case basis.
Asked specifically about an agency investigating a person seeking an abortion, Hennie said CPD would not share information in those cases.
Surveillance tech expansion
The city put out a Request for Proposals about a year ago, indicating the Cincinnati Police Department is undergoing a five-year expansion. The RFP sought quotes for installing 30 to 50 automatic license plate readers throughout the city. Submissions are under review, according to the city website.
Hennie said Tuesday the review was on pause because of Council's request for more information.
Cincinnati's retention schedule varies depending on the type of technology. Hennie says video files are kept for shorter periods of time because of the high cost of storage. License plate readers only record a photo of a license plate, with metadata recording the time and location.
In all cases, specific files can be archived as evidence in a specific investigation and therefore would be retained as long as the case or potential litigation is active.
- Stationary license plate readers (Motorola): data kept for one year
- Vehicle-mounted license plate readers (Axon): data kept for one year
- City cameras (Genetec): footage kept for 14 days
- Body-worn cameras and vehicle-mounted cameras (Axon): footage kept for 90 days
- Drone video (Skydio): footage kept for 90 days
Hennie says he would like to increase the retention schedule for surveillance camera footage from 14 days to 90 days or even a year.
"If this committee is asking me what my suggestion is, my suggestion would be to invest those resources to increase that 14 days, not reduce that, and not reduce the other retentions," Hennie said.
Learn more about the city's use of surveillance in the presentation slides below. (Note: this document is 16 pages. On mobile, only the first page may be visible.)
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