Mountain View pauses ALPR program after audit finds statewide search enabled

Mayor Emily Ann Ramos told the council on Feb. 10 that the Mountain View Police Department had shut off the city's automated license plate readers (ALPRs) after an audit found an outside search function had been enabled without the department's awareness.

"Last week, Mountain View's automated license plate readers cameras were turned off," Ramos said, describing a police-initiated audit and a subsequent discovery that a nationwide search feature and an unrelated statewide search capability had been enabled during parts of 2024. The mayor said the chief disabled the system pending further investigation.

Public commenters urged immediate steps: several speakers called for terminating the city's contract with the vendor (identified in public materials as Block/Floc), physically covering or removing cameras, and greater transparency about earlier records requests. Eva Tang, a frequent public commenter on surveillance issues, said an outside agency could "search Mountain View's flock data supposedly unauthorized for over a year," and pressed for clear disclosure of who requested data and when.

City staff and the mayor said the police chief discovered the functions during an internal audit and that staff will return to council on Feb. 24 with a recommendation about the vendor contract. The mayor also thanked residents who raised concerns and noted the department's role in investigations while stressing the need to rebuild public trust.

What happens next: the council is scheduled to consider whether to end the ALPR contract at its Feb. 24 meeting; the police chief and staff are conducting an audit and tracing data access.