Albany council orders competitive bid and committee review of license‑plate reader program after heated public debate

Mayor Peggy McQuade and the Albany City Council on May 18 directed staff to open a competitive procurement process for the city's automated license‑plate reader (ALPR) system and sent the matter to the council's Public Safety Committee for further review.

Chief Greg Galliano told the council the ALPR program — implemented in May 2024 and currently operated under a contract with Flock Safety — has aided investigations, citing a hit that led to an arrest in roughly eight hours and other cases that linked seemingly unrelated commercial burglaries. "The ALPR system is one of many tools our officers use to make safer and more informed decisions," Galliano said, explaining the system captures still images of license plates, retains data for 30 days unless preserved for an investigation, and is administered under departmental policy and state law including SB 34 and SB 54.

The presentation drew sustained public comment both for and against the program. Blair Alexander, a retired law‑enforcement officer, said the system is a deterrent and an important investigative tool: "This is so much better than when I came on, where you just get a description and try to stop a matching car," he said. Several residents urged the council to abandon Flock and the program, citing documented cases where ALPR data was misused and reports that the company has shared information with outside agencies. "We are a sanctuary city," an online commenter, Tamiko, said. "We should have safety without surveillance." Susan, a longtime resident, told the council the concentration of cameras around neighborhoods creates what she called "a mass surveillance network."

Council members pressed staff on safeguards and auditability. Galliano said the department limits access to California law enforcement agencies and conducts supervisory audits; he said the vendor operates CJIS‑compliant infrastructure and that staff plan to remove roughly one‑third of cameras that produce few hits. He also said the current contract has an auto‑renew clause but the city has informed the vendor it will not automatically renew.

Council action followed. Council member [Jordan] moved to "authorize staff to conduct a competitive bid process to evaluate automatic license plate reader vendors, including review by the council's Public Safety Committee," a motion seconded by Council member Mickey; the motion passed on a unanimous roll call vote. The Public Safety Committee was scheduled to meet in June and staff said they expect to return to the full council with recommendations in July or, at the latest, before the contract term ends in September.

Next steps: staff will solicit bids, analyze alternative vendors and privacy features, explore enhanced transparency for network audit logs, and present recommendations to the Public Safety Committee before returning to the full council.