Caldwell, Idaho · Automated license plate readers · 2023–2026
Caldwell Police told City Council that its camera network led to 80 arrests. Here is that number next to what the city has committed to spend, and next to every other arrest CPD made in the same period.
Counting only the license plate cameras: $4,731 per arrest.
From late 2023 to mid-2026, Caldwell Police made roughly 4,100 arrests. The cameras were part of 80 of them, about 2½ a month. CPD averages about 128 arrests a month.
CPD makes about 4.2 arrests a day. At that pace, the department makes as many arrests in 19 days as the cameras helped with in about 2½ years.
Council members have said that dropping the cameras would mean hiring many more officers. CPD averages about 21 arrests per officer per year. The cameras were part of about 30 a year, roughly what one and a half officers already do.
| Approved | What it bought | Contract total |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2023Res. 276-23 | 33 Flock plate cameras and gunshot detection for 3 years, paid with federal ARPA relief funds$318,450 of this was for the plate cameras | $378,450 |
| Feb 2025Res. 41-25 | 10 more Flock plate cameras, 2 years | $60,000 |
| Aug 2025Res. 284-25 | 18 video cameras and 1 plate camera at the cemetery | $27,350 |
| Sep 2025Order form | FreeForm AI search add-on, 3 years$21,000 a year | $63,000 |
| Total | $528,800 |
These are only the contracts found so far. In Feb 2026 the Caldwell Housing Authority also agreed to pay the city $12,000 for 2 more Flock cameras, which isn't counted here.