LAPD Streetlight License Plate Camera Pilot Moves Forward In West Valley

LOS ANGELES, CA — A three-month pilot program for the installation of license plate-reading cameras on street lights in the west San Fernando Valley will move forward after an effort by the Los Angeles City Council to incorporate additional safeguards failed Tuesday to garner enough votes.

Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez had sought to send back the pilot program for further review to the Board of Police Commissioners, which oversees the Los Angeles Police Department. But his motion, which needed 10 votes to pass, failed by one in a 9-6 vote.

The program will be implemented in Council District 3, encompassing neighborhoods such as Encino, Woodland Hills, Tarzana, among others.

The LAPD's contract with Axon Enterprise for the no-cost pilot will clamp cameras to the tops of street lights, drawing power from the lights' electrical connections, according to Ubicquia Inc., a subcontractor that would install the cameras. Police commissioners approved the pilot in September, but the council asserted jurisdiction over it as Soto-Martinez sought to require more safeguards.

During Tuesday's council meeting, Soto-Martinez asked for three things to happen before allowing the pilot program to be implemented: an independent third-party audit to examine how the LAPD and outside law enforcement agencies used ALPR data in the past, a requirement that sharing external data must be subject to board oversight, and stricter limits on how many LAPD personnel can access the technology.

"We should take the time to make sure that we have thorough, thoughtful protections laid out before we install our cameras," Soto-Martinez said.

Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who represents CD3, and council members John Lee, Adrin Nazarian, Traci Park, Monica Rodriguez and Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson opposed the veto.

Lee, who advocated for the pilot program to be implemented, also asked police commissioners to audit the results of the pilot. The audit would evaluate data privacy, security retention, access and compliance, and identify entities with direct or indirect access to ALPR data, among other things.

He also requested the police commissioners to review audit findings and verify that appropriate safeguards are in place before expanding or the permanent implementation of the Axon pilot.

Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez criticized colleagues who moved forward with the program.

"We were told that there will be oversight and that there will be accountability, but what we have heard in this meeting and the other one is that no, these polices don't exist," Hernandez said.

The councilwoman further criticized her colleagues for condemning the federal government's immigration policies and related actions, but at the same time being willing to "expand the surveillance infrastructure that could put those same families at risk."

Park argued that the program does not use facial recognition, geometric interpretation or audio recording, or identify drivers or passengers. She added that it does not create data fields identifying a person's race, ethnicity, medical or immigration status — reiterating comments previously made by LAPD officials.

She said such technology helps communities like hers in Pacific Palisades stay safe. She added that the LAPD needs the technology amid challenges with recruitment, hiring and retention of sworn personnel.

Blumenfield's arguments for supporting the pilot swayed the conversation, as he noted the program would be implemented in his district. Blumenfield said his constituents have been asking for ALPR technology, often making the point that neighboring Districts 11 and 12 (Park and Lee's districts, which are south and north of west valley) have them.

"We've conflated this whole issue of the cameras into this pilot decision, and I don't think that's right. I think we're actually making it more difficult," Blumenfield said.

"At the end of the day, we all understand that these cameras are... these cameras can be a really critical force multiplier, that they can help prevent crimes, they can help solve crimes, which ultimately will help deter crimes," Blumenfield added.

Tuesday's vote came after the five-member Public Safety Committee voted 3-2 to recommend rejecting the pilot program, which was approved by the Board of Police Commissioners in September.

The LAPD uses automated license plate reader technology to identify stolen vehicles and those associated with wanted suspects. Axon Enterprise and Motorola Solutions provide ALPR technology to the department.

During the committee meeting on Oct. 20, LAPD Cmdr. Randy Goddard, assistant commanding officer of the department's Information Technology Bureau, said the system generates an alert. Under department policy it is not probable cause. An officer must verify the plate and confirm the underlining status through an independent source before taking action.

California law and department policy set limits on how ALPR information may be used and shared. State laws prohibit sharing ALPR data with federal and out-of-state agencies, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The LAPD further prohibits searches based solely on First Amendment activity or other legally protected characteristics or activities.

LAPD Chief Information Officer Dean Gialamas, who also serves as commanding officer of the department's Information Technology Bureau, explained that on Sept. 22 the police commission approved the ALPR pilot with Axon under an enhanced governance framework created by the LAPD.

"It established a considerably more restrictive and accountable operating model to test, evaluate and report back before any longer-term decision is made. It established a new path forward," Gialamas said. "Importantly, many of these safeguards are already being implemented."

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell issued a department-wide notice about new ALPR guidelines on data ownership, privacy and safeguards related to data sharing and access, audits, accountability and transparency, according to Gialamas. The policy was based on recommendations and feedback from the police commission, residents and other entities.

Gialamas said the Axon contract will serve as a template for future ALPR vendors. He added that the department had updated its data-retention and data-sharing policies to strengthen civil liberties and privacy protections.

The LAPD's updated policy would be implemented at the same time as the pilot program.

Changes to the department's ALPR policy include:

• Prohibiting unauthorized secondary use and unauthorized sharing of information while preserving city ownership of the data.
• Restricting access to captured data to 4,000 officers and reducing searchable data from two years to 90 days. After 90 days, the data would no longer be available for routine searches.
• Limiting data sharing to certain law enforcement agencies, including police departments in Torrance, Huntington Park, Hayward, Signal Hill, Simi Valley, La Mesa, Glendale, Alhambra, West Covina and Livermore, as well as sheriff's departments in Los Angeles, Madera and San Luis Obispo counties, among others.
• Adjusting the frequency of audits.
• Requiring officers authorized to access the system to obtain supervisory approval and complete online video training and a test.

Gialamas noted that direct access to the department's ALPR system is currently suspended. Case-specific requests must be documented on official agency letterhead and will be reviewed individually before any information is provided.

"Let us test the technology under our enhanced safeguards, measure its public safety value, and our compliance with those safeguards, identify any remaining risks, and repot the results back publicly before any longer-term decision is made," Gialamas said.

Also in September, the Board of Police Commissioners approved a new 10- year, $235 million contract with Axon.

The company is expected to provide more than 1,600 patrol-car cameras with ALPR technology, along with thousands of replacement body-worn cameras, Tasers, cloud storage for video footage and artificial intelligence features that would generate initial drafts of police reports from body-worn camera recordings.

By Jose Herrera, City News Service