Are You Watching Me Right Now?: What Chico Police Did with License-Plate Records

In the small college town of Chico, California, locals or have strongly opposed the Motorola automated license plate reader, also known as the ALPR system. The system, which was designed to locate stolen vehicles, assist in missing person cases, and cut crime, is currently under scrutiny. A ChicoSol investigation discovered records from the Motorola ALPR dashboard in July that indicate evidence of data being shared across 20 federal agencies and more than 80 out-of-state law enforcement agencies. These agencies include ICE Homeland Security, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the U.S. Border Patrol.

According to California law, enacted under Senate Bill 34 (SB 34), the ALPR Privacy Act prohibits law enforcement from selling, sharing, or transferring data to unauthorized entities. It would be considered illegal if the data were used for federal immigration enforcement, such as by ICE or Border Patrol. There are currently 27 Motorola ALPR cameras in Chico. Around the beginning of August, in a press release, Chico Police Chief Billy Aldridge claimed the department only shared data for the purpose of aiding criminal investigations, not immigration enforcement. However, the sharing would still violate SB 34 (North State Public Radio).

Chico officials have stated that an investigation is being carried out by the city and Chico PD and is expected to end sometime this month. Although there is an ongoing investigation surrounding ALPR, the California Attorney General’s Office told NSPR in an email last month that it can neither confirm nor deny whether the Chico department itself is under investigation over its use of the system.

At least for now, Aldridge has relayed that access to the data will remain restricted to California law enforcement.