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Nevada County Sheriff | License plate readers

The Sheriff's Office entered a $78,500 twelve-month Flock Safety pilot in March 2023 under Board Resolution 23-142, according to a May 2024 Board resolution that authorized an environmental notice for a camera at Highway 49 and Tyler Foote Road. The camera count, the agreement after the pilot, and the sharing list are not in the records we fetched.

At a glance

Pilot agreement
Flock Group, Inc., $78,500, 12 months, entered 2023-03-28 under Resolution 23-142 [2]
Board resolution
Adopted 2024-05-28, 5-0, authorizing the environmental notice [2]
Camera location in the notice
CA 49 at Tyler Foote Road, District 4 [1] [2]
Camera count and other locations
not in any record we fetched; the notice and resolution cover one camera [1] [2]
Published usage and privacy policy
the office’s policy index links its policy manual; the reader policy was not read on this pass [3]
Sharing
not in any record we fetched

How it happened

  1. Procurement

    Twelve-month Flock pilot agreement

    The Board's 2024 resolution recites that "on March 28, 2023, the Nevada County Sheriff's Office entered into a Services Agreement with Flock Group, Inc. in the amount of $78,500 for a 12-month pilot program to use the technology services provided by Flock via Resolution 23-142." [2]

  2. Decision

    Board authorizes the environmental notice

    The Board adopted, 5-0, a resolution authorizing a notice of exemption for the "Flock Automated License Plate Reader Project Camera at CA49 and Tyler Foote Road, District IV." [2]

  3. Deployment

    Notice of exemption filed for one camera

    "The project consists of the installation of a Flock Safety automated license plate reading (ALPR) camera to be installed on behalf of the Nevada County Sheriff's Office," on a 13-foot pole "with a camera and solar panel." [1]

What the record establishes

A Board of Supervisors resolution adopted May 28, 2024, by a 5-0 vote, recites that “on March 28, 2023, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office entered into a Services Agreement with Flock Group, Inc. in the amount of $78,500 for a 12-month pilot program to use the technology services provided by Flock via Resolution 23-142,” that the office’s 2023-24 budget includes the project, and that “it is desired to install a camera at CA 49 and Tyler Foote Road.”[2] The notice of exemption filed with the State Clearinghouse on July 3, 2024 describes “a Flock Safety automated license plate reading (ALPR) camera to be installed on behalf of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office” on “a 13’ X SQRD REDITORQUE pole with a camera and solar panel.”[1] The resolution cites CEQA Guidelines section 15301(e); the Clearinghouse record lists section 15303(e).

What it does not establish

The resolution and the notice cover one camera. The office’s policy index links its policy manual, which this pass did not read for the reader policy.[3] The agreement that followed the pilot, the camera count, other locations, spending to date, and the sharing list were not in the records we fetched. Local reporting the sweep surfaced on these points did not resolve on re-fetch and is not relied on here.

Questions

Does the Sheriff's Office use license plate readers?
Yes. A Board resolution recites a $78,500 twelve-month Flock pilot entered in March 2023, and a 2024 environmental notice covers a camera at Highway 49 and Tyler Foote Road. The full camera count, the agreement after the pilot, and the sharing list are not in records we fetched. [1] [2]
Who can see the data?
Not stated in any record we fetched. The office's policy index links its policy manual, which this pass did not read for the reader policy; a records request is drafted. [3]

On the map

The community has mapped 94 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 Nevada County.

What we have documented in Nevada 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.
    California State Clearinghouse, SCH 2024070193, Flock Safety Automated License Plate Reading (ALPR) Camera, Nevada County · Primary document · · accessed · archived copy
  2. 2.
    Nevada County Board of Supervisors, resolution authorizing a notice of exemption for the Flock ALPR camera at CA 49 and Tyler Foote Road, adopted 2024-05-28 (attachment to SCH 2024070193) · Meeting record · · accessed
  3. 3.
    Nevada County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff's Office Policies · Primary document · accessed · archived copy

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