Los Angeles Council's 9-6 Vote Fails to Halt LAPD License-Plate Reader Pilot: 30 Devices to Be Installed in the West San Fernando Valley
In Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, the City Council failed on October 27, after a divided vote, to stop the Los Angeles Police Department's three-month automated license-plate recognition (ALPR) pilot, which will proceed as planned in the West San Fernando Valley, MyNewsLA reported.
Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez moved to send the pilot back to the Police Commission for further review, but the motion needed 10 votes and failed 9-6, by a single vote. The pilot sits in Council District 3, covering communities including Encino, Woodland Hills and Tarzana. Under the plan, Axon subcontractor Ubicquia will install 30 ALPR devices on streetlights, drawing power from the lights themselves, at no cost to the city during the pilot. The Police Commission approved the pilot in September, and the Council voted on October 6 to assert jurisdiction over it.
Soto-Martinez sought three safeguards first: an independent third-party audit of how LAPD and outside agencies have used ALPR data, commission oversight of external data sharing, and strict limits on who can access the technology. "Before installing cameras, we should take the time to ensure thoughtful, well-considered protections are in place," he said. Those voting against included District 3 Councilmember Bob Blumenfield and Councilmembers John Lee, Adrin Nazarian, Traci Park, Monica Rodriguez and Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson.
LAPD says license-plate readers help investigations; critics cite data retention, sharing and misuse risks, arguing that a divided vote is not an authorization and that oversight and limits must be locked in before the cameras are switched on. GSM has previously reported votes on plate-reader cameras elsewhere in California (see Related).
Related:
San Diego Council Budget Committee Takes Up Ending the Flock Plate-Reader Policy on October 21
Source: GSM · America
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：自动车牌识别（ALPR）摄像头资料图（Dugan Meyer 摄，CC BY 4.0，Wikimedia Commons），非洛杉矶试点设备。File photo of an automated license plate reader camera (by Dugan Meyer, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons); not the Los Angeles pilot equipment.
