Hem #8
March 24,2026
Item #8 March 24, 2026
City Council
Item #8 (RTC 26-273) Informational
Report Regarding the Santa Clara
CITY OF Police Department's Automated
License Plate Reader (ALPR) Policy,
Compliance Review and Program
1852 Operations
THE MISSION CITY
Cory Morgan, Chief of Police
March 24, 2026
City of
Santa Clara
The Center of Whar Possible
Executive Summary
ALPR Program Review and Compliance Update
Department evaluation completed
• Program operations confirmed to be aligned with
California law
2 POST MEETING MATERIAL
1 City of
Santa Clara
The Center of Whats Possibly
Why We Are Here
Transparency and Accountability
• Out-of-state data access
• Federal agency access
• Compliance with Senate Bill 34 (SB 34)
3 City of
Santa Clara
The Coffer of Whits Postitte
What ALPR Collects
• License plate number
• Still image of vehicle
Vehicle make & color
• Date, time & location
• Captured from public roadways
Does NOT include DMV
information, driver identity, or
criminal history * Flock Safety
201200041) EPOT
4 2
City of
Santa Clara
ile Copter of what Possible
Constitutional & Statutory Framework
• No expectation of privacy in license plates on
public roads
• Governed by Civil Code §1798.90.5 (SB 34)
• Immigration restrictions governed by SB 54
• Department policy incorporates both
5 City of
Santa Clara
The Center of must Positte
SCPD ALPR History
2008 - Initial Deployment 2019 - Technology Investment
(PIPS Technology) Council approved funding fo
• Limited mobile systems on four patrol nvestigative technolog vehicles • Recognized need to address evolving
• Small coverage area and limited scans crime trends
2016 - Policy & Compliance 2021 - Modern ALPR Program (Flock) • City Council adopted ALPR policy • Expanded coverage with fixed cameras • Aligned with California privacy law • Real-time alerts and regional connectivity (SB 34)
6 3
City of
Santa Clara
Public Safety Impact
• Homicide • Mail theft & fraud
• Robbery • Missing persons
• Armed carjacking • Stolen vehicle recovery
• Sexual assault • Firearm recoveries
investigations • Organized burglary
7 City of
Santa Clara
The Conter of What Possibla
Bay Area Flock LE Network
• Concord Hillsborough Palo Alto • Santa Clara
Alameda :
Alameda Count Contra Costa County Livermore Petaluma Santa Rosa Albany Cotati Los Altos Piedmont Sausalito
Antioch Daly City Los Gatos Pleasant Hill Sonoma County Atherton Danville arin Count Pleasanton South San Francisco Belmont Dublin enlo Par Redwood City St. Helena
Belvedere East Bay Parks Mill Valley Richmond Sunnyvale Benicia East Palo Alto Milpitas Rio Vista Tiburon
Berkeley El Cerrito Moraga Rohnert Park Union City
Brentwood Emeryville Morgan Hill San Bruno UC Berkeley
Brisbane Fairfield Napa San Francisco Vacaville
Burlingame Foster City Napa County San Jose Vallejo
CHP Fremont NCRIC San Leandro Walnut Creek
Calistoga Gilroy Newark San Mateo Foothill-DeAnza
Half Moon Bay Novato San Mateo County College
Campbell
Oakland San Pablo West Valley
Clayton Hayward
Mission College
Cloverdale Healdsburg Oakley San Rafael
: Pacifica San Ramon 8
Colma Hercules
8 4
City of
Santa Clara
The Center of tiers Posible
Policy & Oversight Framework
Governance & Transparency
• Policy updated (Nov 2021) and publicly posted
• Written request required for data release
Access Control & Accountability
• Division Commander approval required
• Monthly audit required (Policy 428.6)
Legal Compliance
• Immigration-related data sharing prohibited
9 City of
Santa Clara
How ALPR Is Used
Training & Authorized Use
• Initial training required prior to access
• Legitimate law enforcement purpose required for all searches • Refresher training every ~2 years
Access & Accountability
• Individual user credentials required
• All activity logged and subject to audit
System use is limited to authorized purposes, trained personnel, and audited activity 10 10
5 City of
Santa Clara
The Collerof Whats Fosible
How ALPR Is Used
Primarily Passive, Automated Alerts
• Cameras scan plates and compare to state and local hot lists • Alerts generated for stolen vehicles and stolen plates • 26,000+ alerts generated by Santa Clara ALPR cameras in 2025 Controlled Investigative Use
• Custom hot list entries require documented law enforcement purpose • Supervisor approval required
11. 11
City of
Santa Clara
The Center of WhatX Postible
How ALPR Is Used - Investigative Searches
Controlled Investigative Use
• Searches require documented law enforcement purpose
• Case number and crime type required
Search Types
• Specific lookup (license plate)
• Filtered search (vehicle description, date, location) Search Scope & Tools
• Searches can be limited by region and timeframe
• Advanced tools (Convoy, Geo-Locate) support investigations • All use is logged and subject to audit 12
12 6
City of
Santa Clara
Tie Center of Whars Popsiole
Evolving Criminal Tactics
Shift in tactics to avoid detection
• Cold plating - using a stolen license plate to conceal identity Altering plate - tape, scratches, bending, dirt placement or swapping characters (e.g., turning an "E" into an "F")
• Vehicle switching - frequent changes and use of rental vehicles 13 13
City of
Santa Clara
The Centecol Wits Postible
ALPR Retention
Default Retention (Vendor - Flock)
• Data automatically deleted after 30 days
• Over 99% of data is never retained
Evidence Retention (Department Policy 428.5)
• Data downloaded for investigations retained minimum of one year • Aligned with the Department retention schedule
Audit Logs
• Retained for a minimum of one year
• Do not contain ALPR data
• Record search activity only 14
14 7
City of
Santa Clara
Tay Coffer of Wist Possible
Understanding Audit Logs
• "Search Event" * Data Access or Sharing
• "Total Networks Searched" ‡ Records Retrieved
• Logs do NOT show how many results were returned
• Logs do NOT indicate data export or download
Audit logs reflect search activity, not data access or sharing 15 15
City of
Santa Clara
The Center of What Possible
Flock Transparency Portal
Public Transparency
• Public portal provides information on SCPD ALPR system • Displays organizations authorized for access
Public Audit Access
• Public search audit log available
• Displays last 30 days of system activity
16 16
8 City of
Santa Clara
The Conter of Whats Possible
Historical Platform Configuration
• Earlier platform settings allowed multi-network searches • Included out-of-state agencies
• Internal audit confirmed there were 114,497 searches conducted by six non-CA agencies between 2024 & 2025.
- only 2 searches were conducted specifically for SCPD Flock network alone.
17 17
City of
Santa Clara
The Carter of Whats Possible
Vendor Guardrail Updates (2025)
• March: National Lookup disabled
• June: Out-of-state sharing blocked
• July: Prohibited search filters implemented
- Immigration-related searches blocked
- Reproductive healthcare searches blocked
• August: Federal agencies removed from lookup networks California data cannot be shared with out-of-state or federal agencies 18 18
9 City of
Santa Clara
in Conterol Wilts Possok
SCPD Review - September 2025
• Comprehensive review of sharing settings
• Confirmed no active out-of-state sharing
• Verified California-only data sharing configuration
• Ongoing monitoring and periodic verification
19 19
City of
Santa Clara
The Confer of Whork Possible
ALPR in Action: Real Cases
Districts 1 & 2 - Firearm Possession | Stolen Weapons
ALPR alert → high-risk stop
• Stolen firearm recovered
• Additional rifles seized (AK-47 & AR-15)
Districts 1, 2, & 4 - Bank Jugging Crew
ALPR alerts linked suspects across jurisdictions
• 8 suspects identified
~ 160+ felony charges
• Multi-jurisdiction investigation
20 20
10 City of
Santa Clara
The Corter of What? Possible
ALPR in Action: Real Cases
Districts 2 & 4 - Organized Commercial Burglaries
ALPR alerts linked crime scenes across multiple cities
• Search warrants served
• 8 suspects arrested
V Multi-agency investigation
District 3 - Armed Robbery Spree
ALPR identified suspect vehicle → linked cases across jurisdictions v 5 suspects arrested
• Multi-agency coordination
21 21
City of
Santa Clara
The Collie of Whath Posite
ALPR in Action: Real Cases
District 4 - Assault with Deadly Weapon | Road Rage
Vehicle description + nearby camera → custom hot list → same-day alert • Suspect identified and arrested
v Admitted involvement
District 5 - Child Sexual Assault Multi-Victim Case
ALPR revealed suspect travel patterns to Santa Clara near assaults • Critical evidence developed
• Multiple victims identified
• Suspect arrested on felony charges
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11 City of
Santa Clara
The Center of Whats Peasible
ALPR in Action: Real Cases
Districts 5 & 6 - Armed Carjacking Suspect | Multi-Agency Response ALPR alert for suspect vehicle → pursuit → suspects located • Cross jurisdiction coordination (SJPD/SCPD)
v Armed suspects taken into custody
Distriet 6 - Armed Carjacking | Out-of-State Homicide Link ALPR alert for stolen vehicle → suspects located
V Linked to out-of-state homicide
• Search warrants served
V All suspect in custody
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City of
Santa Clara
The Center of Whaty Feasible
Context: Other Municipal LPR Uses
• Parking enforcement vehicles commonly use LPR for permit verification and compliance
• Residential parking programs rely on license plate databases • Parking garages use LPR for automated entry and billing • These systems often contain resident permit and payment data 24 24
12 City of
Santa Clara
The Copter of What? Fumitt
How ALPR Compares to Other Plate-Based Systems
Police Investigative ALPR Residential Parking Systems
• Plate image & vehicle image • Plate linked to resident permits • Date/time/location • Address or permit data
• ~30-day retention Toll Systems
• Not linked to personal identity • Plate linked to billing accounts • Payment & account date
Private Parking Systems
• Plate linked to payment records 25
25 City of
Santa Clara
Ts: Center of tilath Polsible
Oversight Is Continuous
• May 2016 - ALPR policy adopted
• Mar - Aug 2025 - vendor guardrails implemented
• Sept 2025 - configuration review conducted
• Annual audit required
• Monthly logs reviewed
26 26
13 City of
Santa Clara
Where We Stand Today
• Historical configuration reviewed & addressed
• No out-of-state sharing
• No federal lookup access
• Immigration-related use prohibited
• Structural safeguards and oversight in place
• ALPR remains a critical public safety tool SANTA GLARA 1ST. 1852
POLICE
27 14