ST. HELENA — The St. Helena City Council wants more public feedback before leasing four automatic license plate readers to aid criminal investigations.
The council agreed Tuesday to wait until its Sept. 27 meeting before voting on the police department’s proposed two-year lease of the cameras from Flock Safety for $26,800.
According to a staff report, police plan to place the cameras on Highway 29 at the northern city limits, Highway 29 at the southern city limits, eastbound Pope Street at the Silverado Trail, and eastbound Pratt Avenue at Silverado.
The staff report says the devices could have aided with incidents such as the May hit-and-run at Main and Spring and the robbery of the Elyse Walker boutique in July, in which the suspects used a stolen car.
ALPRs take still photos of the backs of vehicles and license plates. They do not record video or use facial recognition technology. Data is purged after 30 days and may not be shared with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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A “transparency portal” would allow the public to see when and why police access the system, and the police department would conduct random audits to make sure officers and dispatchers are using the system properly.
The Calistoga Police Department — which, like St. Helena, has only two officers on patrol at any given time — recently obtained six ALPRs from Flock Safety. Police in both cities have said the cameras will help them investigate crime reports that would otherwise contain only vague descriptions of vehicles.
“This is a pretty powerful tool if used correctly,” Lt. Justin Tharp told the council.
However, ALPRs have also generated privacy concerns. A representative of Oakland Privacy wrote a letter urging the council to consider the matter at a special meeting, purge camera data every seven days, and periodically review the police department’s use of the data.
You can reach Edward Booth at 707-256-2213.
