Policy
435
Pacifica Police Department
Pacifica PD Policy Manual
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/08/30, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Pacifica Police Department ***DRAFT*** Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) - 1 Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs)
435.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance for the capture, storage and use of digital data obtained through the use of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology. 435.2 ADMINISTRATION OF ALPR DATA
The ALPR technology, also known as License Plate Recognition (LPR), allows for the automated detection of license plates. It is used by the Pacifica Police Department to convert data associated with vehicle license plates for official law enforcement purposes including identifying stolen or wanted vehicles, stolen license plates, and missing persons. ALPRs may be used to gather information related to active warrants, homeland security, electronic surveillance, suspect interdiction, and stolen property recovery.
All installation and maintenance of ALPR equipment, as well as ALPR data retention and access shall be managed by the Administrative and Investigative Services Division Commander. The Administrative and Investigative Services Division Commander will assign members under his/her command to administer the day-to-day operation of the ALPR equipment and data. 435.3 ALPR ADMINISTRATOR
The Administrative and Investigative Services Division Commander shall be responsible for developing guidelines and procedures to comply with the requirements of Civil Code § 1798.90.5 et seq. This includes, but is not limited to (Civil Code § 1798.90.51; Civil Code § 1798.90.5 (a) A description of the job title or other designation of the members and independent contractors who are authorized to use or access the ALPR system or to collect ALPR information.
(b) Training requirements for authorized users.
(c) A description of how the ALPR system will be monitored to ensure the security of the information and compliance with applicable privacy laws. (d) Procedures for system operators to maintain records of access in compliance with Civil Code § 1798.90.52.
(e) The title and name of the current designee in overseeing the ALPR operation. (f) Working with the Custodian of Records on the retention and destruction of ALPR data. (g) Ensure a transparency portal containing ALPR policies, accessibility, and usage is conspicuously posted on the Pacifica Police Department's website. 435.4 OPERATIONS
Use of an ALPR is restricted to the purposes outlined below. Department members shall not use, or allow others to use the equipment or database records for any unauthorized purpose (Civil Code § 1798.90.51; Civil Code § 1798.90.53).
Pacifica Police Department
Pacifica PD Policy Manual
Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs)
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/08/30, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Pacifica Police Department ***DRAFT*** Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) - 2 (a) An ALPR shall only be used for official law enforcement business. (b) An ALPR may be used in conjunction with any routine patrol operation or criminal investigation. Reasonable suspicion or probable cause is not required before using an ALPR.
(c) While an ALPR may be used to canvass license plates around any crime scene, particular consideration should be given to using ALPR-equipped police vehicles to canvass areas around homicides, shootings and other major incidents. Partial license plates and unique vehicle descriptions reported during major crimes should be entered into the ALPR system in an attempt to identify suspect vehicles. (d) No member of this department shall operate ALPR equipment or access ALPR data without first completing department-approved training.
(e) No ALPR operator may access department, state or federal data unless otherwise authorized to do so.
(f) If practicable, the officer should visually verify the license plate matches the license plate captured by the ALPR system and verify the status on the hot list through a law enforcement official or system such as the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS), before taking enforcement action based solely on an ALPR alert.
435.5 PROHIBITED USE
(a) Except when done pursuant to a court order such as a search warrant, ALPR shall not be used to invade the privacy of individuals or record license plates not in public view, nor shall ALPR be used to harass, intimidate, or discriminate against any individual or group.
(b) Unauthorized access, possession or release of data is a violation of policy and various federal and state criminal statutes. Any employee who accesses, possesses, or releases data from the ALPR database without authorization or in violation of this policy and may face discipline up to and including termination, criminal prosecution and/or civil liability.
(c) Pacifica Police Department does not permit the sharing of ALPR data for the purpose of federal immigration enforcement, pursuant to the California Values Act (Government Code § 7282.5; Government Code § 7284.2 et seq). (d) The Pacifica Police Department will also consider the California Reproductive Privacy Act (Health and Safety Code § 123460 - § 123469) before approving the sharing of ALPR data for the purpose of investigating any person seeking to exercise their reproductive health care rights within California. The Pacifica Police Department does not permit the sharing of ALPR data for the purpose of prosecuting, investigating or initiating any legal proceeding against any person for the exercise of reproductive health care rights as defined by California law.
(e) Pacifica Police Department will not share ALPR data with federal or out-of-state agencies in compliance with Civil Code §§1798.90.55(b) and 1798.90.5(f).
Pacifica Police Department
Pacifica PD Policy Manual
Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs)
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/08/30, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Pacifica Police Department ***DRAFT*** Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) - 3 435.6 DATA COLLECTION AND RETENTION
The Administrative and Investigative Services Division Commander is responsible for ensuring systems and processes are in place for the proper collection and retention of ALPR data. Data will be transferred from vehicles to the designated storage in accordance with department procedures.
Fixed camera ALPR data transmitted to Flock Safety from the police department shall be stored in their encrypted cloud for no more than 30 days and then destroyed. In-car camera ALPR data transmitted to Axon Evidence shall be stored in their encrypted cloud for no more than 30 days and then destroyed.
Thereafter, ALPR data should be purged unless it has become, or it is reasonable to believe it will become evidence in a criminal or civil action or is subject to a discovery request or other lawful action to produce records. In those circumstances the applicable data should be downloaded from the cloud onto portable media and booked into evidence or transferred to the department's digital evidence management system.
The ALPR data contains no Personally Identifiable Information (PII) that may be used to connect license plate detection to an individual. The only information contained in the ALPR database is the vehicle license plate, a photograph of the vehicle, the location the photograph was taken and the date and time the photograph was taken.
435.7 ACCOUNTABILITY
All data will be closely safeguarded and protected by both procedural and technological means.
The Pacifica Police Department will observe the following safeguards regarding access to and use of stored data (Civil Code § 1798.90.51; Civil Code § 1798.90.53):
(a) All ALPR data downloaded to the mobile workstation and in storage shall be accessible only through a login/password-protected system capable of documenting all access of information by name, date and time (Civil Code § 1798.90.52). (b) Members approved to access ALPR data under these guidelines are permitted to access the data for legitimate law enforcement purposes only, such as when the data relate to a specific criminal investigation or department-related civil or administrative action.
(c) ALPR system audits will be conducted by the ALPR Administrator or designee every quarter.
(d) All ALPR data queries must be accompanied by the law enforcement case number or incident number corresponding with the investigation. Without a case number or incident number entered, the system will not allow a query of license plate data. (e) ALPR data may be released to other authorized and verified law enforcement officials and agencies at any time for legitimate law enforcement purposes. (f) The Pacifica Police Department will not share data outside of California unless there is an exigent circumstance or court order that requires the data be shared. This does not apply to federal agencies unless the intended use of the data is for immigration purposes (California Values Act State Bill 54).
Pacifica Police Department
Pacifica PD Policy Manual
Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs)
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/08/30, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Pacifica Police Department ***DRAFT*** Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) - 4 For security or data breaches, see the Records Release and Maintenance Policy. 435.8 RELEASING ALPR DATA
ALPR data may be shared only with other law enforcement or prosecutorial agencies for official law enforcement purposes or as otherwise permitted by law, using the following procedures:
California agencies with a valid Flock Safety Memorandum of Understanding:
(a) These agencies will be granted access to Pacifica Police Department's Flock ALPR data through Flock Safety's secure platform after receiving approval from the ALPR Administrator.
California agencies without a valid Flock Safety Memorandum of Understanding:
(b) The agency makes a written request for the ALPR data that includes:
1. The name of the agency.
2. The name of the person requesting.
3. The intended purpose of obtaining the information.
(c) The request is reviewed by the ALPR Administrator or the authorized designee and must be approved before the request is fulfilled.
Requests for ALPR data by non-law enforcement or non-prosecutorial agencies will be processed as provided in the Records Maintenance and Release Policy (Civil Code § 1798.90.55). 435.9 TRAINING
The Professional Standards Supervisor should ensure that members receive departmentapproved training for those authorized to use or access the ALPR system (Civil Code § 1798.90.51; Civil Code § 1798.90.53).