Brenham Police Department secures grant to expand license plate reader tech

BRENHAM — The Brenham Police Department has been awarded a state grant to fund key public safety initiatives, including the deployment of additional Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras and a first-responder drone platform.

The grant, totaling approximately $81,666 from the State of Texas Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority for the fiscal year 2027 Catalytic Converter Theft Prevention Grant Program, was formally accepted following a unanimous vote by the Brenham City Council. The department will contribute a matching requirement of $16,334, funded through its asset forfeiture account.

Police Chief Gary Boshears presented the grant details during a recent council meeting, highlighting that the application ranked near the top of over 100 statewide submissions.

The funding will support the installation of six to seven new ALPR units placed on mobile platforms and strategic roadways. These specialized cameras capture high-speed images of license plates to help law enforcement locate stolen vehicles, track suspects in active investigations, and detect vehicles tied to violent crimes or catalytic converter thefts.

During the meeting, Councilmember Steve Soman inquired about data privacy, user management, and the potential integration of artificial intelligence or third-party databases with the new systems.

Chief Boshears clarified that the department is working with technology provider Axon and emphasized that the system does not utilize facial recognition technology.

"The LPRs do not use facial recognition," he explained. "They can build a small profile on the vehicle itself. I.E. it's a red Ford F-150, but it doesn't use any type of facial recognition. It's specifically designed to take a picture of the license plate on the rear of the vehicle."

Addressing concerns regarding national databases and unauthorized searches, Chief Boshears emphasized that data sharing is strictly controlled at the local level.

"By default, Axon's data sharing is turned off for everyone, and so we can decide on a case-by-case basis how we would want to share data with anybody that would request that," he said. "Your data is housed within your platform, and you decide exclusively who can and can't have access to it."

To prevent misuse and ensure accountability, the police department has updated its operating policy to require strict, auditable logging for all system searches.

"It requires an individual login, so you can see the user who's logged into it," Chief Boshears noted. "Any search is auditable. It will require that they enter a case number and the offense that was associated with the search."

He added that the updated policy mandates quarterly internal audits of all searches to guarantee compliance with department standards and ensure the technology remains a trusted tool for community safety.