USA06 August, 20262 min read
Morro Bay Residents Raise Privacy Concerns Over 10 Motorola Solutions License Plate Cameras
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Morro Bay hosts 10 Motorola Solutions ALPR cameras, with one under repair. The cameras were approved in January 2023 and cost about $153,659.
Privacy fights over ALPRs
In Morro Bay, Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) have drawn privacy concerns from residents as the city uses 10 Motorola Solutions cameras, with one under repair, approved in January 2023 and costing $153,658.75 in Measure Q and E funds.
Morro Bay police chief Amy Watkins said the system provides “the vehicle plate number, the make and the model of the vehicle, and the color,” and she said the information goes directly to the police department rather than Motorola.
Watkins said the data is accessible to officers and any agency with an MOU, restricted to California law enforcement agencies only, and she said the department receives monthly audits on who accesses the information.
Morro Bay resident Michelle Howard-Leiceter said, “Why should the city watching our every move? Not just license plates but identifying objects on a vehicle dents, color, make, model, bumper stickers that can ultimately track us in the future.”
Courts and police defend
In San Jose, a lawsuit challenging the city’s automated license plate reader cameras remains alive after a Santa Clara County judge asked both sides to submit additional briefing before he rules on the case. CAIR’s Zahra Billoo said the concern is “the creation of a searchable history of where people have been,” and she argued police should not be able to follow where cars travel without a warrant.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s office said in a statement it appreciated “the Court's careful consideration and today's tentative ruling in the City's favor,” and the San Jose Police Department said it has cut its data retention window from one year to 30 days. The San Jose Police Department added, “Any sharing of ALPR data must meet defined policy requirements, be directly tied to a legitimate investigative purpose,” and it said the cameras help solve crimes, recover stolen vehicles and find missing people.
Theft, vandalism, and limits
In Duluth, Minnesota, six of the Duluth Police Department’s nine automated license plate reader cameras have been stolen or damaged since June, and the cameras made by Flock Safety were positioned at intersections across the city. Former Cook County Sheriff and law enforcement consultant Pat Eliasen said, “It’s basically an investigative tool,” while he warned that “the people feel that the government is building a repository of all this information they’re going to keep it forever and ever.”
Under Minnesota law, Eliasen said data captured by license plate readers that is not connected to an active investigation must be deleted within 60 days, and he attributed public concern to misinformation spread online. Duluth Police said it does not plan to replace the six stolen or damaged cameras, and the statement from Flock Safety said agencies own and control their data and that every data search requires a documented reason.