Forest View Residents and Community:
The Forest View Police Department is committed to using modern technology such as Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) to enhance our public safety initiatives of preventing crime and protecting the quality of life in our community.
License plate readers are specialized camera systems that capture images of vehicle license plates. Captured plate images are then linked through designated law enforcement databases and alert lists. When our officers receive a potential match on the plate, this allows our officers to further investigate the reason for the hit and then take the appropriate actions if warranted.
License Plate Readers benefit our community in many ways, such as:
- Identifying Stolen Vehicles
- Providing valuable information to assist us in our criminal investigations such as burglaries, robberies, vehicle thefts, and pursuits, and was an extremely valuable tool in our homicide investigation and for our alleged attempted child abduction investigation.
- Identifies vehicles associated with wanted persons or serious felony criminal investigations.
- Further develops investigative leads and valuable information for conducting interviews to confirm when and where a vehicle was observed.
- Locate missing or endangered people
- Most importantly -- Supports Officer and Public Safety
ALPR technology is an important tool in modern policing, but recently the use of this technology has raised some concerns in the media regarding privacy, data retention, and government surveillance. The Forest View Police Department has several safeguards in place for our use of ALPR technology. This includes our Automated License Plate Reader Program Policy, which outlines Authorized Use, Accountability, and Auditing, along with additional safeguards that detail the procedural and access control systems we have in place.
The safeguards we have in place as a department are consistent with all recently raised concerns in the media. The Forest View Police Department will continue to operate ALPR technology in accordance with all applicable laws and department policies, along with established access and retention requirements. Access to information received from ALPR’s is properly monitored and controlled, and any information received is used only for authorized law enforcement purposes.
See the attached informational brochure that explains what LPRs Do -- and -- what LPRs Don’t Do.
If you have any questions regarding ALPR technology or its use by the Forest View Police Department, please contact us at any time, as we welcome your questions.
Sincerely,
Jim Ritz
Chief of Police
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