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Public commenter urges pause on Santa Clara police ALPR sharing, says records requests contradict public statements
Summary
A local speaker told the council that internal presentations and public records responses conflict over ALPR access and regional data sharing; the speaker asked the council to suspend data-sharing with regional intelligence centers and to require the chief to appear under public questioning.
A public commenter identified as Jay addressed the council during public presentations, urging immediate action on automated license‑plate reader (ALPR) data sharing by the Santa Clara Police Department.
Jay said department presentations in March claimed limits on out‑of‑state sharing, yet internal logs and vendor MOUs indicate broader onward sharing through regional fusion centers (NCRIC/NICRIC) and networks such as WISN. "This technology creates a permanent searchable record of every driver in this city's movements," Jay said, and he argued the city’s own oversight logs cannot reliably confirm whether Santa Clara data was included in multi‑network queries or exported to outside agencies.
He said he filed Public Records Act requests for MOUs and was told no responsive records exist, then obtained NICRIC MOUs independently which, he said, authorize onward sharing without agency approval. Jay asked the council to direct staff to suspend data sharing between SCPD and NICRIC immediately until the council reviews governing agreements and for Chief Morgan to return to answer why records were denied when the department earlier described those arrangements in public.
The mayor said the council could not act on requests made during public comment but acknowledged receipt of the concerns and that staff has the information.
Jay’s statements focused on the difference between search‑event logs and documented evidence of data export and called for transparency and written governing agreements to be posted and available to the public.
