CC SR 20220405 05 - Regional Public Safety Technology
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 04/05/2022
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business
AGENDA TITLE:
Consideration and possible action to receive a report on regional use of public safety
technology.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Receive and file a report on statewide and regional investments in public safety
technology.
FISCAL IMPACT: N/A
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: McKenzie Bright, Administrative Analyst
REVIEWED BY: Karina Bañales, Deputy City Manager
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
BACKGROUND:
In 2016, the Peninsula cities completed installation of a Peninsula-wide automatic license
plate reader (ALPR) network. In 2018, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes completed an
ALPR network on Western Avenue. The data collected from the cameras is accessible to
the Lomita Sheriff’s Station, serving the cities of Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, and
Rolling Hills Estates, and the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department. The ALPR
network has been a valuable tool for law enforcement.
ALPR cameras function by collecting images of license plates which computer software
collates and automatically checks against a “hot list.” A hot list is used by law enforcement
to be notified of vehicles of interest, such as stolen vehicles and vehicles associated wi th
AMBER Alerts. Otherwise, the data can be used in an investigatory capacity. Local law
enforcement agencies obtain hot lists from state and federal agencies, including the
California Department of Justice, California Department of Motor Vehicles, and U.S.
Department of Justice, as well as create their own local hot lists. Law enfo rcement
agencies can share ALPR data, including ALPR images and/or local hot lists, with other
public law enforcement agencies.
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At the Council meeting on December 7, 2021, after receiving a quarterly report from
Captain Powers of the Lomita Sheriff Station which indicated a recent surge in stolen
vehicles in the City and how the ALPR cameras assist in locating stolen vehicles,
Councilmember Cruikshank requested an item be brought back to assess the usage of
ALPR cameras in neighboring jurisdictions, which may aid in capturing vehicles stolen
from the City. When Councilmember Cruikshank introduced this item to be placed on a
future agenda, it was requested that Staff explore if other cities utilize similar technology
and to consider writing a letter to state officials requesting grant funding be made available
for local jurisdictions to purchase ALPRs to expand the use of technology throughout the
state to aid in crime prevention and investigation.
DISCUSSION:
In 2019, the California State Auditor conducted a survey1 of police and sheriff
departments’ use of ALPR programs. Of the 323 respondents, 71% were using or
planning to use ALPR programs – 193 departments utilizing the program at the time and
36 planning to use them. Of the 46 departments in Los Angeles County, 41 use ALPRs.
In addition to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s (LASD’s) use of ALPRs, all
of the Peninsula’s neighboring cities with police departments utilize ALPRs, such as Long
Beach, Torrance, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Gardena, and the
City of Los Angeles, including the Harbor Division which serves San Pedro .
The maps on the following page illustrate the police and sheriff’s departments in California
(inset map for Los Angeles County) which use ALPRs in blue. Yellow indicates a
department is planning to use ALPRs and red indicates the department does not use
ALPRs, as reported in the State Auditor’s 2019 survey results (note that this report is a
few years old and may not capture changes that may have occurred over the past few
years). The first map calls out neighboring police departments to illustrate their usage. In
the second map, individual sheriff’s stations did not report their specific camera usage.
The markers notate the city (see Map 1) – or county (see Map 2) – in which one or more
ALPRs are used.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) additionally utilizes ALPR cameras on state
highways.
continued on next page
1 See California State Auditor Report No. 2019-118 Automatic License Plate Readers: To Better Protect
Individuals’ Privacy, Law Enforcement Must Increase Its Safeguards for the Data it Collects.
http://auditor.ca.gov/reports/2019-118/supplemental.html
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Map 1: Police Departments ALPR Usage
Map 2: County Sheriff Departments ALPR Usage
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Departments not using ALPR devices tend to serve smaller, more rural communities. For
example, police departments that use ALPRs serve cities that have an average
population density of 5,700 people per square mile and median household income of
$72,000, whereas police departments not using ALPRs serve cities with an average
population density of 3,300 people per square mile and median household income of
$50,000. Additionally, police departments that do not use ALPRs have, on average, less
crime, as measured through their Part I crime statistics reported by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI), with an average of 900 Part I crimes annually, compared to
jurisdictions using ALPRs with annual Part I crimes averaging 7,500.
ALPR networks are expensive to purchase and maintain. Smaller, more rural police
departments with relatively low crime levels may not be as interested in obtaining ALPR
technology due to its more limited potential being unable to offset associated costs.
Grants may be available to these jurisdictions, but many grant programs provide funds
for general public safety equipment, not requiring the purchase of ALPRs.
Rancho Palos Verdes’ neighboring cities all utilize ALPR, as do the vast majority of
departments and stations in Los Angeles County, including in the South Bay region.
These ALPRs are used to collect license plate data and hot list data can be shared across
jurisdictions. The specific placements and usage of ALPRs is not well publicized to protect
law enforcement’s response and investigation capacities, so specific usage and number
and type of ALPRs will not be detailed in this report.
Grant Opportunities
There are multiple grant opportunities for the purchase of public safety technology, such
as the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance Edward Byrne Memorial
Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program.
The JAG program annually allocates awards to state and local governments. For local
jurisdictions, allocations are based on the jurisdiction’s population and proportion of the
state’s three-year violent crime average. JAG funds can be used for, among other things,
law enforcement, corrections, crime victim and witness programs, and
planning/evaluation and technology improvement. ALPRs would be acceptable uses of
JAG funds.
Since the Peninsula cities are relatively small by population, with low levels of violent
crimes, none receive allocations. This particular program is not competitive – awards are
made based on crime rates alone. The City has not applied for grants to fund or offset the
cost of the ALPR network.
Additional grants are available at the state and federal levels for local jurisdictions.
Staff will continue to monitor for grant opportunities that the City may use for its existing
operations of the ALPR system.
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CONCLUSION:
Due to the proliferation of ALPR usage across the state, and in the Los Angeles County
region in particular, and due to the existence of current state and federal programs which
provide funding for the acquisition of ALPR cameras, Staff recommends the City Council
receive and file this report. If Staff becomes aware of an opportunity for additional funding
for the acquisition of ALPRs for the City or for neighboring jurisdictions to expand its
program, if warranted, it will be brought before the City Council for authorization to send
a letter or seek grant funds.
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