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Council panel approves license-plate recognition equipment donation over data-sharing concerns
Summary
A city council committee approved the donation of automatic license-plate recognition equipment by a 3-1 vote after hours of public comment and questions about who will be allowed to access the data.
A Los Angeles City Council committee voted to approve two agenda items authorizing donated license-plate recognition equipment after members recorded three votes in favor, one vote against and one absence.
The vote followed questions from committee members and a technical briefing from Randy Garder of the Los Angeles Police Department information-technology unit, who said the department owns the camera data and that any external access requires a memorandum of understanding signed by the police chief. "Tenemos cámaras en la ciudad, todo ese dato es propiedad de los de la policía de Los Ángeles," Garder said. "…no podemos compartir esos datos con nadie sin el permiso expreso de un memorando de entendimiento con el jefe de policía."
Committee members pressed for clarity about data sharing after public commenters raised concerns about undisclosed donations to police and about how and with whom license-plate data would be shared. A member of the public asked whether the department had shared plate-read data with Border Patrol or other agencies; Garder said the department has signed only five data-sharing agreements to date and that sharing with other agencies is governed by the memoranda of understanding he described.
The roll call on the two items reflected one dissenting vote: Councilmember Soto Martínez voted against the measures; Councilmembers Macosker and Parker voted in favor; Councilmember Price was recorded absent. The presiding member confirmed that, with one negative and the rest in favor, the items passed.
Votes at a glance: - Item 8 (donation of license-plate recognition equipment): vote recorded 3 yes, 1 no, 1 absent — approved. Motion text: not specified in the record. Mover/second: not specified. - Item 10 (related donation/acceptance item): vote recorded 3 yes, 1 no, 1 absent — approved. Motion text: not specified in the record. Mover/second: not specified.
Council members asked staff to place details in the public record and to share the text of existing memoranda of understanding; Garder confirmed a copy of the MOU is available and said the department will provide it on request. Public commenters repeatedly requested disclosure of donors to police-affiliated programs and asked for transparency about donations tied to equipment and recognition programs.
The committee did not change the ownership rules Garder described; he said the department retains ownership of camera-origin data and that external agencies may only receive access under explicit written agreements.
The committee moved on to unrelated items after voting. No ordinance or new policy language changing data-ownership rules appeared in the discussion; the committee’s action accepted the donated equipment under the terms and controls described by department staff.
