St. Helena Police Seek To Install License Plate Cameras

Press release from the City of St. Helena:

ST. HELENA, CA — The St. Helena Police Department is seeking City Council Approval to install four Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) in various location within the city. The cameras are built by Flock Safety, a public safety technology company that helps neighborhoods, communities, and law enforcement work together to fight crime.

Flock Safety ALPR cameras help law enforcement investigate crime by providing objective evidence — license plates and vehicle characteristics. The system focuses on the rear of vehicles and the license plate. It is not intended to photo or identify a vehicle’s occupants. The system takes still photos and is not a live video feed.

To proactively prevent crime from occurring in St. Helena, the cameras send a real-time alert to law enforcement when a stolen car or known wanted suspect from a state or national crime database enters the jurisdiction. They can also send alerts if a vehicle associated with a missing person in an AMBER or Silver Alert is detected.

The St. Helena Police Department will maintain an updated policy around usage of the ALPR system. Each search requires a justification, and the data is never sold or shared with third parties. The cameras will be used to solve and reduce property and violent crime and are not intended for minor traffic or parking violations.

ALPR cameras will greatly increase our abilities to prevent and solve crimes that occur in the city, said Lt. Tharp, St. Helena Police Department.

Flock Safety cameras are in use in over 2,000 cities across 40 states, and the company works with thousands of law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement have reported crime reductions of up to 70% when deploying Flock Safety in their communities.

This press release was produced by the City of St. Helena. The views expressed here are the author’s own.