Avondale Police to Ask for 58 More License Plate Readers Amid Recruitment Challenges
Avondale council members voice strong support for expanding technology and AI tools as the police department looks to address staffing challenges ahead of the 2026 budget.
Like many police departments across Arizona, Avondale is navigating the challenges of staffing shortages while trying to maintain service levels in a growing community.
In 2025, the department hired 21 sworn officers. During that same period, three officers retired and 11 separated from the department. According to Police Chief Memo Espinoza, a significant number of recruits leave during the academy or field training process.
“We lost a majority during the Academy and during our Field Officer Training program,” Espinoza told council members. “A lot of individuals, we bring them on board, we try to explain to them the difficulties of this position… But at the end of the day, once they start the Academy, ‘you know, this is not for me,’ and they move on.”
Even among those who complete training, some decide the profession is not the right fit once they begin working in the field.
The department faces similar challenges among professional staff. In 2025, Avondale Police hired 14 civilian employees, with one retirement and 15 separations — the majority of those in communications, including dispatchers. Dispatch roles require four to six months of training and operate on demanding schedules.
“This job is difficult,” Espinoza said. “They have a difficult schedule. A lot of people come on board, they go through the training, they decide that’s not for them and then they move on.” He added that those who remain beyond the first year or two tend to build long-term careers, describing the department as having “a solid group of senior dispatchers.”
The department’s current vacancy rate stands at 7.3 percent, with a goal of maintaining sworn and professional staff vacancies under 5 percent. A full-time recruiter has been added to support hiring efforts.
On March 2, 2026, during a non-voting presentation to the Avondale City Council, police leadership outlined its 2026 priorities and initiatives ahead of the upcoming budget process, which is expected to begin in April.
City Manager Ron Corbin emphasized the city does not have excess staffing capacity and discussed the role technology may play in supporting personnel. He described a proposal to temporarily hold one sworn vacancy in order to fund additional equipment, including drones and cameras, while assessing future revenue.
“When we saw the presentation, they made a commitment… the ability to reduce call time — in other words, reduce FTE without reducing FTE,” Corbin said. “We made a commitment that if we hold one of those vacancies, that he can get two cameras… two drones with that vacancy.”
Among the department’s technology initiatives are AI-assisted report writing software — which other agencies report can reduce report-writing time by approximately 30 percent — a Drone as First Responder (DFR) program, and an expansion of its Flock Safety license plate reader network.
Avondale currently operates 15 Flock cameras and is requesting an additional 58.
“We’re asking to expand the Flock camera system. These are our license plate readers,” Espinoza said. “We use these license plate readers as an investigative tool. And that’s the only reason we use ’em for.”
Espinoza noted that neighboring Litchfield Park operates 38 license plate readers and described a recent burglary investigation in which license plate reader footage helped identify a suspect vehicle, leading to an arrest and connections to additional burglaries in other cities.
He also stated that Avondale does not use its cameras to actively track or pursue vehicles.
“In Avondale, we simply utilize them for the purpose as an investigative tool for our officers or detectives. We do not use them to chase cars around or anything like that,” he said.
Additional 2026 initiatives include forming a Traffic Safety Committee, training four additional officers, purchasing 18 laser speed measurement devices, and implementing a building-clearing training area.
According to 2025 crime statistics presented at the meeting, crimes against persons — primarily domestic violence-related assaults — increased by 11.25 percent. Crimes against property decreased by 3.2 percent, and crimes against society declined by 8.43 percent.
As the budget process begins, city leaders will weigh staffing realities, public safety goals, and the expanding role of technology in meeting the department’s objectives.
Leadership Perspective on Innovation and Technology
Mayor Mike Pineda expressed appreciation for the Avondale Police Department’s proactive approach in researching and identifying opportunities to integrate new technologies.
“And while there may be other places around the country who are adopting some of the software, it’s top of mind for yourselves,” Pineda said.
The mayor noted that one of his key takeaways from the presentation was the department’s broader transition toward technology. Referencing a report he had recently read about artificial intelligence replacing certain jobs, Pineda observed that even traditional tasks like report writing are evolving.
“And while that may not occur here,” he added, “I just think it’s funny to learn that even report writing is changing.”
Police Chief Memo Espinoza acknowledged that he does not consider himself highly tech-savvy but emphasized that innovation within the department is encouraged at every level.
“We expect our staff to bring technologies and ideas to us,” Espinoza said. “And we do so by a program we implemented a couple years ago. It’s the Change Initiative. So any member of the PD at any level — whether sworn or not — they can submit a Change Initiative request. It could be a change of policy, it could be for us to look at a new type of technology — and it comes directly to us so that we can explore that and assign somebody that is more tech savvy than us to look at that technology and put it out to our staff.”
Mayor Pineda described the dynamic as potentially reciprocal.
“Well maybe it’ll be a tradeoff, right?” he said. “Some of the young officers who are looking toward leadership positions are learning from those who have more tenure. And those who have more tenure, including yourselves, learn maybe from those who are exposed to newer technologies.”
Vehicle Surveillance and Data Retention: How Long Is the Data Stored?
Avondale City Council has expressed strong support for the police department’s use of technology to help address staffing shortages.
While some Arizona cities are reconsidering or scaling back AI-powered tools such as automated license plate readers (ALPRs), Avondale’s proposed expansion of Flock Safety cameras and Drone as First Responder (DFR) technology was met with praise during the March 2, 2026 presentation.
Councilmember Max White commented on the broader role of surveillance technology in modern society, stating, “I think that as you continue to normalize the fact that there’s an element of surveillance that we all have to become comfortable with in society, it just keeps us honest. You know, if I’m not breaking the law, I don’t worry about you surveilling me.”
One question that emerged during the discussion is how long ALPR data is retained.
According to Flock Safety’s Evidence Policy, updated January 9, 2026, the company’s default data retention period for license plate reader data is 30 days, after which the data is permanently deleted from the cloud. The policy also allows agencies to request extended retention of up to one year, provided approval is obtained from an elected official or governing body to ensure transparency and community oversight.
Clarifying Data Access and Retention
During the March 2, 2026 Avondale City Council presentation, Councilmember Jeannette Garcia emphasized that the city does not “keep personal records” from Flock cameras and that the system is used only for investigations.
“I read in other cities that people are requesting their personal records for the Flock camera,” Garcia said. “And we don’t have personal records for the Flock camera. And I don’t think they understand that we’re not keeping that information. It is used only for investigations.”
Avondale Police Chief Memo Espinoza similarly stated that the department uses Flock cameras strictly as an investigative tool and not to actively track or pursue vehicles.
However, questions about data retention and access were not fully addressed during the discussion. I have contacted the City of Avondale seeking clarification regarding its specific ALPR data retention policy.
For Flock data to be used in an investigation or emergency, it must be accessed through the company’s cloud-based system. According to Flock Safety’s published materials, all footage and metadata are encrypted throughout their lifecycle and stored using Amazon Web Services cloud infrastructure. Flock’s FAQ also notes that footage is uploaded to the cloud so authorized customers can access it remotely.
Under Flock’s current Evidence Policy, updated January 9, 2026, the company’s default retention period is 30 days, after which data is deleted from the cloud. Agencies may request extended retention of up to one year with approval from an elected official or governing body.
Importantly, while Flock deletes data after its retention period, law enforcement agencies may separately store images or data in accordance with their own internal policies once accessed or downloaded.
In Arizona, public records obtained in prior investigations show agency-level retention practices can range from approximately two weeks to one year.
Garcia’s comments appear to distinguish between maintaining individualized investigative files on specific citizens and the broader storage of license plate images and associated location data. License plate reader systems collect vehicle plate numbers, timestamps, and location data points, which can be queried by plate number during authorized investigations.
Garcia also addressed public concerns about surveillance technology more broadly.
“A lot of what I experience is people want to be in a safe community and that comes with advanced technology that people don’t like nowadays,” Garcia said. “But that is how we keep the community safe… I understand their concerns. But I think that mostly they have a misconception and are uneducated on the topic.”
Councilmember Gloria Solorio expressed support for the proposed technology investments as well, stating she embraced City Manager Ron Corbin after he indicated he was open to considering the expansion following earlier cost concerns.
Councilmember Gloria Solorio voiced support for expanding Avondale’s use of surveillance technology, including drones, during the March 2, 2026 City Council meeting.
Solorio stated she met with Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley and is advocating for the Drone as First Responder (DFR) program.
“I know that a lot of people are against like the camera, the invasion, what not,” Solorio said. “But if it helps you solve crime like the way we saw that video with the DFR being deployed, to help in a situation where a person committed a crime — they murdered somebody — it was immediately on them. They were able to figure it out in 45 minutes. The car was being tracked. It was really great to see that.”
Solorio also noted she has discussed the technology with Goodyear Councilmember Trey Terry, during a meeting attended by Flock CEO Garrett Langley. Terry recently authored an opinion piece in the Daily Independent expressing support for automated license plate reader technology.
Solorio also referenced the upcoming National League of Cities conference, where municipal leaders from across the country gather to discuss policy and governance trends.
According to publicly available materials, Flock Safety and Google are listed among the conference’s Capstone-level partners.
Google recently appeared at an Arizona Senate hearing in support of HB 2311, legislation outlining procedures artificial intelligence operators must follow when minor children interact with conversational AI services. The bill instructs operators to provide privacy and account management tools for minor users, including additional parental controls for account holders under the age of 13.
Additional National League of Cities partners include Amazon, Axon, BRINC Drones, CyberAlliance (Sally AI), Esri, Skydio, UKG, and VC3 — companies that provide services ranging from cloud infrastructure and geospatial mapping to public safety technology, workforce management, and artificial intelligence tools used by local governments.
The overlap in conference participation and state-level legislative advocacy highlights the broader, ongoing intersection between emerging technology companies and public policy discussions at both local and state levels.
Jen’s Two Cents.
As artificial intelligence and public safety technology become more accessible and affordable, cities across Arizona are increasingly viewing them as tools that can help stretch limited budgets and staffing.
But technology often comes with tradeoffs. Financial, practical, and philosophical. While many communities want law enforcement to have the tools they need to respond quickly and solve crimes, others are raising thoughtful questions about privacy, oversight, and long-term impacts.
Across Arizona, residents are engaging their city councils and state lawmakers in conversations about where that balance should be.
At the heart of it, most people share the same goal: supporting the men and women in uniform while preserving the values and rights that define their communities. How cities navigate that path through staffing, technology, policy, or some combination will likely continue to evolve in the months and years ahead.