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Council hears update on ALPR pilot; city says no federal access requests so far
Summary
Police Chief Power told the council the city’s one-year Flock ALPR pilot is operating as intended, that data-sharing agreements remain a cumbersome manual process but are being automated, and that the city has not received federal requests for ALPR data to date.
Police Chief Power updated the council on the city’s one‑year pilot of a Flock automated license‑plate reader (ALPR) system and said the technology is being used by patrol officers for license-status checks, warrants, stolen‑vehicle identification and proactive enforcement. “The system is operating as intended,” Chief Power said, and the department has used ALPR data in investigations including a hospital stalking case that helped identify a suspect.
Chief Power told council staff are still finalizing data‑sharing agreements with partner agencies and described the current process as paper‑based and “clunky”: agencies sign and return separate documents, a process he said Flock is working to embed directly in the system. He said the city sent notice to partner agencies that data sharing would stop if agreements were not signed by the end of February.
The chief emphasized training and legal compliance: Flock provides webinars and city staff recently attended training; materials were shared with the city attorney. “We continue to work with other agencies to make sure that we are in compliance with state law and retaining data as needed,” he said.
Council members asked how new plate designs affect reads; Chief Power said the ALPR requires recalibration when new plate styles are issued (for example, the newer black plates) and must learn the new patterns to identify characters reliably. Member Joerger asked which local and county agencies have requested access; Chief Power said he did not have the list immediately but offered to provide it by the end of the meeting and pointed councilors to an online transparency hub where ALPR use is documented.
On federal access concerns, Chief Power said the vendor and city maintain that the city controls release of its data and that only legal process (warrants or court orders) would permit release without city involvement, except in rare federal‑investigation scenarios where the city might not be notified immediately. “We have not had any data requests by any federal agencies,” he added.
The council did not take formal action on the item; Chief Power said he would supply the list of agencies with access requests and follow up on training materials.
