Denver Selects Axon to Provide License Plate Reader Services

Denver Selects Axon to Provide License Plate Reader Services

Published on February 24, 2026

Mayor Mike Johnston today announced the City and County of Denver has selected Axon to provide license plate reader (LPR) services along public streets and detailed an extensive set of privacy protections that Axon will be required to follow. LPRs are proven to help solve crimes, hold individuals accountable for breaking the law, and make Denver safer.

The selection of Axon and accompanying data protections is the culmination of several months of discussion between the Mayor's Office, members of City Council, Denver Police, public defenders and district attorneys, community organizations, and privacy experts. As promised by Mayor Johnston last year, Denver intends to bring the one-year contract to City Council for consideration ahead of the city's current contract with Flock Safety expiring at the end of March. 

"We've heard the community loud and clear and it is time to make a change,"said Mayor Mike Johnston. "Axon is among our most reliable partners and will collaborate with us on strong safeguards that protect immigrants, women seeking reproductive healthcare, and the Constitutional rights of Denverites. I'm grateful to Council for helping us build a data system that is accountable to our residents and that will set the standard for how cities balance the needs for both privacy and safety."

Axon is a longstanding partner of the City and County of Denver with an extensive track record of success and of ensuring sensitive data, such as video collected through body worn cameras, is protected and stored properly. Axon's LPR systems will easily integrate with the Denver Police Department's, feature the most comprehensive security certifications of all vendors tested, and will not use customer data to train AI models.

Denver's contract with Axon will spell out several protections, ensuring Denver's data cannot be accessed by federal authorities or used for any purposes other than those set forth by the city. Those include regular reviews, the addition of an auditing function, and an agreement to retain data for no longer than 21 days unless required as part of an active investigation. The vendor must also agree that Denver retains full and exclusive ownership of all data and to opt Denver out of any data sharing.

Finally, the vendor must agree to abide by Colorado law, including not providing access to Denver data for the purposes of civil immigration enforcement, abortion-related investigations, or any purpose not explicitly agreed-to. If those terms are violated the vendor can be held in breach of contract and subject to penalties.

In addition to the above provisions, access will remain limited to only Colorado law enforcement agencies who agree to Denver's strict standards around data sharing. Axon, which does not have a national look-up feature, will not share data with federal agencies or agencies outside Colorado. Denver police will also continue to conduct regular data reviews involving LPR searches to ensure the technology is being used appropriately. 

"The data doesn't lie. This technology makes a real difference in public safety,"said Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer."I look forward to considering this contract with a fresh and fair assessment as it goes through the Council process."

License plate readers are a valuable tool for solving crime and are used in hundreds of investigations every year in Denver. This includes the recovery of more than 400 stolen cars and removal of more than 60 firearms from the streets. LPRs have also been used to catch hit and run suspects, and in 2025, were utilized in 16 homicide investigations - more than 40 percent of all such cases last year - as well as 32 non-fatal shooting investigations.

"License plate readers are among the most critical tools we have to develop investigative leads, solve crimes more quickly, and serve justice more efficiently," said Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas. "LPRs have helped us track down violent offenders before they hurt anyone else, aided the city in dropping auto theft to levels not seen in years, and solved serious crimes in which there was otherwise little to no evidence that would allow us to identify the offender and make an arrest." 

"Since their deployment within the District, the value of LPR cameras can be confirmed by specific examples," saidCherry Creek North Director of Public Safety Lanney D. Holmes. "In late 2024, there were three attempted armed robberies in Cherry Creek North. All three victims were assailed at gunpoint. The use of the District's LPR cameras proved vital to the identification and apprehension of suspects involved in those high-profile cases."

The city weighed a number of factors during the selection process, including past performance, cost, effectiveness, and ability to comply with Denver privacy guidelines. The five companies to submit competitive bids for the contract were Motorola, Axon, SoundThinking, Packetalk, and Flock Safety.

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