Dear Representative XXX,
I am writing in my capacity as president of the Ramsey County Chiefs of Police Association to convey our concern over the data retention recommendations surrounding use of automated license plate readers (ALPR).
Several law enforcement agencies within Ramsey County are now using ALPRs. The readers are useful in ferreting out stolen vehicles, persons with active warrants, and unlicensed drivers, but finding vehicles on which a “hit” is attached accounts for only a part of their value. The legislative committee recommendation to disallow retention of ALPR data for any length of time unless it is associated with a hit ignores the role ALPRs can play in the investigation of crimes. Imagine this simple, and not infrequent, scenario:
While a family is away from home for the week, it is burglarized; a traumatic event to many who’ve experienced it. Responding officers speak with neighbors and discover one who saw the suspect, though the neighbor did not know at the time he or she was witnessing a crime. The neighbor describes the suspect as having left the scene in a particular make & model of vehicle. Or, perhaps the witness captures the first digit of a license plate and also describes the vehicle’s color and style.
Those pieces of information are likely to be relayed to surrounding police agencies, but unless an officer is fortunate enough to stumble across a vehicle matching that description in a timely fashion, the investigation will very likely stall. If an ALPR unit had crossed paths with the suspect vehicle while it was traveling about, investigators could use the partial descriptors provided by the neighbor to search the data stored within the ALPR system. Doing so may help identify a suspect and bring him or her to justice when the crime would otherwise remain unsolved and the perpetrator free to continue victimizing others.
We, the members of the Ramsey County Chiefs of Police Association, share your concern about data security and misuse. We also understand reasonable parameters on retention of the data may be needed, but ask that you not take an action which will reduce law enforcement’s ability to use this important tool to solve crimes and protect the public.
Sincerely,
David Kvam, Commander
Maplewood Police Department
President, Ramsey County Chiefs of Police Association