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UC Merced Police and UC Merced TAPS | License plate readers

UC Merced's May 2026 ALPR policy covers campus police and parking operations. It sets a 60-day retention period and limits routine sharing to California state and local public agencies.

At a glance

Current policy effective
May 26, 2026 [1] [2]
Retention
60 days [1]
Audit-log retention
8 years [1]
Routine sharing limit
California state and local public agencies [1]
Policy review through
November 30, 2026 [3]
Search and sharing history before May 2026
audit and sharing reports were not among the primary records reviewed [1]

How it happened

  1. Decision

    University issues a revised ALPR policy

    The university issues a policy for Police and Transportation and Parking Services that sets retention, sharing, access, alert-verification, and audit rules. [1] [2]

  2. Context

    Published policy review period ends

    The university's policy review page lists public review through November 30, 2026. [3]

The current policy

UC Merced issued its Automated License Plate Recognition Information Systems policy on May 26, 2026. It applies to the Police Department and Transportation and Parking Services and describes uses for campus parking, safety, and law enforcement.[1][2]

The policy sets a 60-day retention period for plate data and an eight-year period for audit logs. It requires authorized access, a documented purpose, periodic monitoring, and manual confirmation of an alert before enforcement action.[1]

Sharing limits

Routine sharing is limited to California state and local public agencies. The policy excludes federal and out-of-state agencies and says the system should not connect to an external database unless access is required by law, court process, a search warrant, or explicit consent.[1]

The university lists the policy for review through November 30, 2026.[3] The policy states current rules, but the reviewed primary records do not show the agencies that searched or received data before it took effect. Sharing reports and audit logs are needed to answer that question.

Questions

Who operates UC Merced's plate readers?
The policy applies to the UC Merced Police Department and Transportation and Parking Services. [1]
How long is plate data kept?
The May 2026 policy sets a 60-day retention period. [1]
Can federal or out-of-state agencies receive direct access?
The policy limits routine sharing to California state and local public agencies and excludes federal and out-of-state agencies. It lists exceptions tied to law, court process, a search warrant, or explicit consent. [1]
Must alerts be checked by a person?
Yes. The policy requires manual verification before enforcement action. [1]

On the map

The community has mapped 62 devices of this type in the county on OpenStreetMap. These are community reports: the vendor and operator of each point are unverified, and none is confirmed to belong to this system. See them on the map →

Street names from reverse geocoding — © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

What we do not know

What you can do

Show up

Systems like this one are approved by boards, councils and committees that meet in public. We have not yet confirmed where each of them meets in Merced County.

What we have documented in Merced County →

Protect yourself

Practical steps to shrink your personal data trail. Our guides publish at launch; until then, EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense is the best starting point.

Surveillance Self-Defense →

Sources

  1. 1.
    UC Merced Automated License Plate Recognition Information Systems policy · Primary document · · accessed
  2. 2.
    UC Merced recently issued policies page · Primary document · accessed · archived copy
  3. 3.
    UC Merced policies under review page · Primary document · accessed · archived copy

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