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Council hears police explanation of automatic license‑plate readers and audit safeguards
Summary
Bryan police described how 14 fixed and two mobile license‑plate readers create investigative leads for burglaries and other crimes, said raw plate reads are retained 30 days and searches are permanently audited, and answered council questions about privacy and inter‑agency sharing.
The mayor asked council to discuss consent item 5C, prompting a presentation from the police chief on the department’s automatic license‑plate reader (ALPR) system. The chief said the system includes 14 fixed cameras and two movable “flex” cameras and that it is used to develop investigative leads — for example, matching a vehicle captured on a doorbell video to recent local sightings. “We’ve solved many major cases…about $300,000 worth of tools stolen,” the chief said, describing cases where ALPR data produced leads that led to arrests.
Council members pressed the chief on privacy and data‑sharing. The chief said raw plate data are held in the ALPR database for 30 days and that any subsequent search is retained permanently in audit logs. He said the department shares data with other Texas law‑enforcement agencies but not with federal immigration authorities. “The searches are always audited,” the chief said, adding that internal policies limit searches to criminal‑justice reasons and that abuse can be detected through audits. Council members thanked the department and voiced general support while raising typical privacy concerns about retention and access. The discussion concluded with no formal council action recorded on the agenda item.
