Santa Maria will be purchasing automated license plate readers as the latest tool for law enforcement officers.
On Tuesday night, the City Council voted 4-1 to spend nearly $240,000 to purchase the camera system from Flock Safety to assist the Santa Maria Police Department. Councilwoman Gloria Soto opposed the motion.
Police Chief Marc Schneider recommended the purchase of cameras that can be mounted to existing poles or a vehicle and would cover two lanes of traffic.
“Leveraging this technology will afford the police department an opportunity to address criminal activity in a resourceful and efficient manner,” Schneider said.
The technology has come under fire from critics raising privacy concerns, but Schneider said the data would be kept on a government-owned cloud server with images deleted after 30 days and never sold.
“Cameras detect unbiased objective data,” he said. “There is no facial recognition, which I think is an important point.
“No personal data is in the system. No immigration enforcement software is part of this, and there is a field that is required for why somebody is searching, and there is an audit trail to know who made that inquiry.”
Access will be password protected, and the department will have policies and procedures to restrict and protect the privacy, he added.
The California State Auditor released a report in February 2020 expressing privacy concerns about automated license plate readers, or ALPR, noting deficiencies at reviewed agencies in Fresno, Marin County, Sacramento County and Los Angeles.
“An ALPR system collects and stores license plate images of vehicles passing in its view and enables law enforcement to track a vehicle’s movements over time; such a system raises privacy concerns,” California State Auditor Elaine Howle wrote. “State law helps address these concerns by requiring agencies to have policies and safeguards in place to protect their ALPR systems from misuse.
“However, the agencies we reviewed either did not have ALPR policies or their policies were deficient, and they had not implemented sufficient safeguards.”
Some concerns, such as the lack of an audit of who obtained the date, was addressed by Schneider in his presentation to the council.
Any private organizations, such as homeowners associations and businesses with similar systems, could share the information with the department.
“Some of the benefits are obviously it could serve as a deterrent to crime, provide real time actionable data to officers in the field … and it’s a great investigative tool to aid in the identification of criminal activity and suspects associated with vehicles,” he said.
After a hit-and-run collision has occurred, the system could help lead to the identity of a suspect vehicle based on limited information such as the model or color.
The department will purchase 31 cameras to be strategically placed across the city, he added, looking to focus on “high-crime areas.”
Approximately 70% of crimes involve the use of a vehicle.
“This system has been particularly effective in aiding law enforcement in the detection and recovery of stolen vehicles,” Schneider said. “In addition, it is common for stolen vehicles to be used in the commission of crimes, sometimes violent crimes.”
From 2019 to 2020, the number of stolen vehicles increased 66%, he added.
From January to September 2019, the city reported 400 vehicle thefts, a number that jumped to 800 for the same time period in 2020.
“So that would be something that would be a significant aid in us recovering these vehicles in a timely manner,” the chief added.
Councilman Carlos Escobedo welcomed the new cameras, adding that he had received complaints from residents in his district about drivers racing or being reckless.
“I think this technology is outstanding,” Councilman Mike Cordero, a retired police lieutenant, added.
He said the system also can improve officer safety by alerting them about potential danger.
“So, I think it has a lot of advantages to it, and it’s something we should be involved with in our community,” Cordero said.
These cameras would not be used for red light enforcement, Schneider said.
In 2015, the city began acquiring a public safety surveillance camera system for placement around the community. However, those cameras have nearly outlasted their designed life span and need to be replaced, the chief said.
Flock license plate readers are used by 45 agencies in the state with another 15 in line to install the cameras, the chief said.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.