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Police: ALPR searches have helped narrow leads but four recent searches returned no matches
Summary
Police described how ALPR is used to validate surveillance or narrow leads; four recently authorized searches (including narcotics and a commercial burglary) produced no results, and officers stressed ALPR is an investigatory tool not a substitute for other evidence.
Police told the oversight committee that authorized ALPR searches are most useful when investigators already have specific corroborating information — partial plate, vehicle make/model, surveillance video — and that broad, undifferentiated dumps of data are seldom helpful.
Justin described the four searches the department ran as they refined search parameters: "There was two of them were for felony vehicles in reference to narcotics, and third one was narcotics. And the one that I dealt with was in reference to a commercial burglary," he said, noting there were duplicate records because staff refined searches and ran them multiple times. He added each of those searches returned zero results.
Committee members and counsel discussed the investigative value of targeted searches versus broad area queries in the event a warrant is later sought, with all sides saying ALPR data should be used to supplement, not replace, traditional detective work.
