Policy Text
Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff
Surveillance Use Policy for Automated License Plate Reader Technology
1.Purpose
Automated license plate readers (ALPRs) use high speed cameras to photograph vehicle
license plates. The Sheriff s ALPRs are PIPS ALPR Technology model SupeRex III, and
shall only be placed on law enforcement vehicles and/or at fixed locations for authorized
law enforcement and public safety pufposes as set forth in this Surveillance Use Policy, to
collect license plate information from vehicles on roadways, on property accessible to the
public, or on private property. A search warrant shall be obtained when legally required.
2.Authorized and Prohibited Uses
The Sheriff s Office maintains PIPS ALPR Technology, which shall only be attached to
law enforcement vehicles or deployed at fixed locations for the following purposes:
o To locate stolen, wanted, andlor other vehicles that are the subject of investigation;
o To locate andlor apprehend individuals subject to arrest warrants or who are otherwise
lawfully sought by law enforcement;
o To locate victims, witnesses, suspects, and others associated with a law enforcement
investigation;
e To locate missing children, adults, and/or elderly individuals, including in response to
Amber Alerts and Silver Alerts;
o To support local, state, federal, and regional public safety departments in the
identification of vehicles associated with targets of criminal investigations, including
investigations of serial crimes;
o To protect participants at special events;
o To protect critical infrastructure sites;
r For other law enforcement or first responder uses not prohibited by law.
Any data obtained from ALPR Technology shall be used and handled pursuant to this
Surveillance Use Policy and applicable state and federal law.
All other uses not referenced above shall be prohibited. Sheriff s personnel shall not utilize
ALPR Technology for personal or non-law enforcement purposes.
3. Data Collection
Digital images of vehicle license plates and their associated license plate numbers shall
be collected by ALPR Technology. The Technology shall collect the date and time that
the license plate passes a digital-image site where an ALPR is located.
4. Data Access
Data collected by ALPR Technology shall be accessible by Sheriff s personnel and
partnering law enforcement agencies participating in South Bay Information Sharing
System (SBISS). Agencies, including the Santa Clara County Sheriff s Office, that are
Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff
Surveillance Use Policy - Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) TechnologyPage 1 of3
June 2018
Approved: 08/28/2018
5.
6.
8.aparticipating in SBISS are subject to SBISS Policies and Procedures governing ALPR
Technology. A copy of the SBISS policy shall be posted on the Santa Clara County
Sheriff s Office website for public review. (For the SBISS policy in effect as of June 2018,
see:
https://www.sccgov.org/sites/sherifflDocuments/SBISS%20ALPR%20Policies%o2\andoh2
0Procedures 03 I 6 1 6(va.0).pdD
Data Protection
Data collected by ALPR Technology shall be stored in a secured law enforcement facility
with multiple layers of physical security and security protection. Encryption, firewalls,
authentication and other reasonable security measures shall be utilized to protect ALPR
Technology data:
All ALPR data downloaded to the mobile workstation or in storage shall be accessible
only through a login/password-protected system capable of documenting all access of
information by name, date and time.
Only those employees of the Sheriff s Office working in an investigative or
enforcement function shall access ALPR data.
o Sheriff s Office employees approved to access ALPR data under these
guidelines shall be permitted to access the data for legitimate law enforcement
purposes only, such as when data relates to specific criminal activity or an
investigation.
Data Retention
ALPR Technology data associated with a criminal investigation may be downloaded onto
an electronic storage device or printed. Downloaded, copied, and printed data shall be
maintained in accordance with applicable state and federal evidentiary laws, to include
retaining the data through the adjudication of a case in a recognized court of law, as well as
allotment of time for an appeals process and statute of limitations. All Sheriff s Office
ALPR Technology data stored in the system shall be purged no later than one year from the
date it was collected.
Public Access
ALPR data shall be made public or deemed exempt from public disclosure pursuant to state
or federal law. For public requests for data, the SherifPs Office shall confer with County
Counsel to determine whether the requested data is exernpt from disclosure pursuant to the
California Public Records Act, or is legally required to be disclosed, and shall respond to
requests in compliance with applicable law.
Third-Party Data-Sharing
Data-sharing from ALPR Technology shall be limited to only the following
Law enforcement agencies who are members of the South Bay Information Sharing
System Group, who have open authorized access subject to log-in/password protection
requirements;7
a
Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff
Surveillance Use Policy - Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) TechnologyPage2 of3
June 2018
9o District Attorney's Office for use as evidence to aid in prosecution, in accordance with
laws governing evidence;
o Public Defender's Office or criminal defense attorney via the District Attorney's Office
in accordance with California discovery laws;
o Other law enforcement offices as part of a criminal or administrative investigation;
o Parties to civil litigation, or other third parties, in response to a valid Court Order.
Training
Training for the operation of ALPR Technology utilized by the SherifPs Office shall be
provided by Sheriff s