Town of Amherst Joins Others And Adds License Plate Cameras

Just when you thought big brother was going to take a break in Western New York, the largest town in Erie County takes a big step towards tracking more of its residents as they go about their day-to-day lives.

A few months ago, the Amherst Town Council and the Amherst Police Department seemingly abandoned a plan to spend thousands of dollars of the people's money to purchase a series of Automated License Plate Cameras and deploy them around the town. According to the original plan submitted to the Amherst Town Council, Amherst Police Chief Scott Chamberlin wanted to buy 24 Axon Outpost License Plate Reader Cameras with an initial cost of more than $300,000 to taxpayers.

However, that plan is back and has been passed by the board.

READ MORE: Buffalo Area Police Agencies Want Access To Your Home Security Cameras

According to WIVB-TV, in a vote on Monday, February 23, 2026, Amherst joins more than 100 other communities in the region that have these cameras.

The data collected will be available to law enforcement agencies in a searchable database that will allow members of the government to build a pretty comprehensive picture of where people go and when they go there.

In a media release on Facebook, the Amherst Police Department said that license plate readers would be used to promote the general safety of the community and the data could only be used "solely for law enforcement" reasons, however, many advocates, including the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and dozens of Amherst residents who spoke out against these cameras, believe that these devices pose a huge risk to the liberty of innocent New Yorkers.

As the University of Texas at Austin notes in a case study, the ethics and opportunity for members of law enforcement to act badly against their citizens exists when they have access to so much data about you.

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