Palo Alto prepares to expand its network of license plate cameras

The Palo Alto Police Department’s newest crime-fighting vehicle is silent, passive and largely invisible unless you know where to look.

The city introduced the tool last spring, when it became the latest municipality to partner with Flock Safety to install automatic license plate readers on lamp posts, street signs and other hardware in undisclosed locations. 20 cameras capture the make, model and color of passing vehicles, as well as their license plate information, and send them to a secure server where the information is stored for up to 30 days. The council approved the purchase in April 2023, and the ministry gradually installed them by November last year.

Now, empowered by its experience with technology, the department plans to expand its camera network. Next week, the City Council will consider and possibly approve a plan to add 10 additional cameras, bringing the total to 30.

The technology has faced persistent criticism from civil rights groups; The ACLU recently criticized Flock for refusing to allow independent verification of its system, pointing to cases where cameras misread license plate information. In New Mexico, for example, three people previously sued the city of Espanola, New Mexico, for errors resulting from camera errors, according to a report by security-focused company IVPM.

There’s even an open-source project known as DeFlock that encourages residents to map the locations of cameras in their communities. While the map doesn’t show every camera, it does show several cameras installed along El Camino Real and Page Mill Road.

Palo Alto police are also working on new equipment. In a new report, the department cites a number of success stories, including an incident where a suspect was arrested after a string of retail thefts and investigators used Flock data to confirm their vehicle was in the area at the time of the theft. In another incident, a car linked to a homicide in another city entered Palo Alto and officers were able to locate the vehicle and take the suspect into custody, who was then transferred to the investigating agency.

Police also reported that in August 2023, they arrested a group of men allegedly involved in an armed carjacking in Berkeley at the Stanford Mall. According to the department, after receiving a report of the stolen vehicle and finding it at the mall, police stopped the vehicle and later found a semi-automatic Glock pistol with a high-capacity magazine in the backseat.

When Palo Alto’s police command staff came up with the idea of ​​installing cameras, they touted the technology’s ability to notify the department when a stolen vehicle arrives from another city. Captain James Reifschneider referred to Flock technology as a “force multiplier.”

“The advantage that ALPR gives us is that if they arrive in known stolen vehicles or with stolen license plates, the camera can notify us of their presence as they enter the area and allow us to intervene with a police officer there,” Reifschneider said. He told the council to approve the cameras before the April 2023 vote.

The ministry’s new report similarly describes technology as a valuable tool.

“Real-time alerts generated by ALPR cameras resulted in the recovery of dozens of stolen vehicles and stolen license plates, the capture of numerous wanted individuals, and the seizure of firearms,” the report states. “Additionally, ALPR has been used to safely locate missing persons.

“Data captured by ALPR cameras also assisted investigators in identifying and arresting numerous felony suspects after crimes were committed.”

The ministry does not disclose the location of the cameras to prevent criminals from bypassing them by using alternative routes. Locations are chosen based on crime statistics, traffic density and common entry and exit points, according to the report. While the Police Department does not permanently install cameras in residential areas, it may temporarily locate cameras to address a particular crime trend, depending on the city.

Palo Alto is one of many cities embracing new technology. Since the introduction of swarm cameras, the city has signed agreements with nearly 60 other law enforcement agencies to share data from the cameras. These include police departments in neighboring and nearby counties (Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Mountain View and Redwood City), sheriff’s offices in Alameda and San Mateo counties, and the California Highway Patrol.

Installing the 10 new cameras will increase the cost of the system to $524,208 between now and December 31, 2029. The entire cost will be covered by the state’s Organized Retail Theft grant program, according to the Police Department report.

Under the city’s policy, license plate data stored by Flock must be purged after 30 days unless it “becomes, or is reasonably believed to become, evidence in a particular criminal investigation or is subject to a discovery request.” Other legal actions to produce records. The policy also prohibits the department from selling the data or using it for any purpose other than “legitimate law enforcement or public safety purposes.”