ALACHUA, Fla. – Alachua Police Chief Jesse Sandusky issued a statement today addressing the department’s use of automated license plate readers and the broader debate surrounding the technology.
The Alachua Police Department said it is following the local and national conversation over License Plate Recognition, or LPR, technology and recognizes the concerns being raised by residents and civil liberties advocates. Questions about privacy, access to collected information, proper law enforcement use, and possible Fourth Amendment issues are serious matters, the department said, and are being treated as such.
According to the department, it recently received notice from the Florida Department of Transportation revoking active permits for Automated License Plate Recognition Systems placed within FDOT rights of way. The state agency is requiring impacted equipment to be removed within 30 days. Nine LPR cameras inside Alachua’s jurisdiction fall under the criteria outlined in the FDOT notice. The vendor has been informed, and police said the vendor has indicated it plans to comply with the 30-day removal order. For now, other LPR cameras that are still operating and do not fall under the FDOT permit criteria will remain in service as the department continues tracking court cases, legislative action, and guidance from state and federal authorities on the use of the technology and any Fourth Amendment implications. Police noted that, at this time, courts have held that LPR use does not violate Fourth Amendment protections. If legal standards change, the department said it will review its practices and make any needed adjustments to remain in compliance with the law while protecting the rights of the community.
While complying with FDOT’s directive, the department said it also wants residents to understand why police agencies have increasingly turned to LPR systems. In Alachua and across the country, officials say the technology has become an important investigative and public-safety tool. The department said LPR cameras have helped officers and investigators identify and arrest suspects in serious criminal cases, find missing and endangered people and juveniles, recover stolen vehicles, and get stolen firearms off the streets.
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Still, the department emphasized that the usefulness of any law enforcement technology does not reduce its obligation to use that tool responsibly, legally, and with respect for constitutional protections. Officers regularly have access to sensitive databases and investigative resources that are not available to the public, police said, and that access comes with a duty to use those systems only for legitimate law enforcement purposes and in line with applicable laws, policies, and procedures.
The Alachua Police Department has policies and safeguards governing access to and use of sensitive law enforcement information, including LPR data. As with other restricted law enforcement databases, allegations that an employee has improperly accessed or misused information are taken seriously and are subject to review and investigation. Appropriate action can and will be taken when violations of law, policy, or procedure are identified. That being said, a thorough review of our current policies will be completed to determine if even more stringent internal processes need to be implemented.
We do not believe that public safety and individual privacy have to be competing principles. Our responsibility is to pursue both. We will continue to seek an appropriate balance that allows law enforcement to use effective technology to identify offenders, solve crimes, locate vulnerable people, and protect our community while ensuring that those tools are used responsibly and with appropriate safeguards for the privacy and constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens.