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Resident warns New Prague auditor check for ALPRs is a paperwork review, not misuse detection
Summary
At a public hearing on police drones and an independent ALPR audit, resident Brian Paulson said Minnesota's biannual ALPR audit is a records-retention checklist that does not detect misuse; police clarified the city's retention policy is 30 days (statute allows up to 60) and that case-related data can be kept longer.
Brian Paulson told the New Prague City Council that the state-mandated biannual audit for automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) focuses on paperwork and retention rules, not on detecting patterns of misuse.
"The audit is a simple compliance check," Paulson said during public comment, adding that the checklist reviews recordkeeping — dates, times, retention and a public log — but does not require auditors to look for repeated queries, off-hours access or queries without case numbers. He also said city records he requested were heavily redacted and that obtaining unredacted public logs required intervention from the state data practices office.
Police Chief Tim Aplin and staff acknowledged limitations in the audit's scope and clarified the city's retention policy. Aplin said the city retains ALPR data for 30 days under local policy, though statute allows up to 60; he added that data tied to an active criminal case can be retained longer. Council members raised concerns that short retention windows could impede investigations if incidents are reported late.
The ALPR discussion took place alongside a public hearing on two proposed police drones; Paulson supported the drone acquisition itself but criticized holding the hearing after the council had already signaled support. Council members said staff would return with further details and a formal policy describing permitted drone and ALPR uses.
No formal changes to the ALPR retention policy were recorded at the meeting; staff said they would continue to follow statute and the city's written policy and would brief the council further if policy changes were recommended.
