Title
Recommendation to Accept Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) Systems Audit Report. (Police 3121)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Elizabeth D. Warmerdam, Interim City Manager
Re: Recommendation to Accept Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) Systems Audit Report
BACKGROUND
On May 20, 2014, City Council authorized the Alameda Police Department to purchase four vehicle mounted, three-camera Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) systems. On July 15, 2014, an ALPR draft policy was presented to the City Council. Following the meeting, a permanent policy was developed and implemented for the ALPR equipment. The policy states that ALPR system audits shall be conducted by the Inspectional Services Supervisor at least every six months during the first two years subsequent to implementation and no less than annually thereafter (see Exhibit 2).
DISCUSSION
Following the purchase of the ALPR equipment, a policy was developed establishing guidelines for the deployment and actions permissible when using the system. This policy includes a section dedicated to "Auditing and Oversight." It was imperative for the Police Department to conduct a comprehensive audit for the following reasons:
1) To be in compliance with the ALPR policy;
2) To ensure the ALPR equipment was being utilized in accordance with the policy; and
3) To ensure public trust regarding the new equipment.
During the July 15, 2014 council meeting presentation, Chief Rolleri agreed to present the results of the first ALPR system audit following the first six months of implementation (see Exhibit 1).
The following is a synopsis of the audit results:
* During the six month audit period, there were 995,029 vehicle license plates scanned by the four ALPR units, with 824 tentative hits, resulting in a tentative hit percentage of .08%. Tentative hits included stolen vehicle, stolen license plate, stolen vehicle part, mis...
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