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Davis Police | License plate readers

Davis Police runs license plate readers on parking enforcement vehicles. The council approved the technology in 2016, adopted the use policy in 2018, and reviews it every year. The city's 2024 report describes the system as used for parking enforcement and not shared; the policy also allows checks against national hot lists.

At a glance

Council approval
2016-03-15, by unanimous vote, as the policy recites [1]
Mounting
Marked parking enforcement vehicles [1]
Use reported for 2023-24
"The system was used for parking enforcement." [1]
Sharing reported for 2023-24
"Not shared" [1]
Retention in policy
One year, then purged unless it has become evidence [1]
Suspicion required to use
None. "Reasonable suspicion or probable cause is not required before using an ALPR." [1]
Hot lists the policy allows
NCIC stolen vehicle and plate files, wanted and missing persons, supervised release, protection orders, the "NCIC Violent Gang and Terrorist Organization File," "NCIC Sexual Offender," DMV suspended registrations and parking citation files [1]
Hot-list checks actually run
not in any record we fetched; the 2024 report describes parking use only [1]
Annual review
Municipal Code 26.07; reports go to the Police Accountability Commission 75 days before council [1]

How it happened

  1. Decision

    Council approves the reader program

    The policy recites that the council "allowed for public comment regarding the implementation of an ALRP program on March 15, 2016" and that "After receiving public comment, the City Council approved the purchase and use of ALRP technology by unanimous vote." [1]

  2. Decision

    Council adopts the ALPR use policy

    The policy opens: "On July 31, 2018, the Davis City Council, in accordance with the Surveillance Technology Ordinance, adopted the following ALPR Use Policy (26.07.030 Davis Municipal Code)". [1]

  3. Denied

    Council declines additional readers

    The 2024 report states: "The Department proposed adding additional ALPR systems at the March 10, 2020, city council meeting, however, the request was not approved." [1]

  4. Context

    Council sends annual reports to the accountability commission first

    The 2024 packet recites that at the June 28, 2022 meeting "council directed staff to provide the annual reports to the Police Accountability Commission (PAC) 75 days prior to reporting to the city council." [1]

  5. Decision

    Annual surveillance technology review on the council agenda

    Staff asked the council to review and reauthorize "20 different types of surveillance technology," license plate readers among them, under the city's surveillance technology ordinance. The packet is the item; we did not read the minutes. [1]

What the record establishes

The City of Davis reviews its surveillance technology every year under its own ordinance. The staff report for June 4, 2024 lists “20 different types of surveillance technology to review and reauthorize,” including license plate readers, and asks the council to hold a public hearing on each. The summary table for license plate readers reads: “The system was used for parking enforcement.” Sharing: “Not shared.” Use: “The ALPR systems are installed on parking enforcement vehicles and used for electronic chalking and e-permit verification.” The packet also recites that “council directed staff to provide the annual reports to the Police Accountability Commission (PAC) 75 days prior to reporting to the city council,” and that the 2024 reports cover “April 1, 2023, to March 16, 2024”.[1]

What the policy says

The use policy in the same packet recites that the council “allowed for public comment regarding the implementation of an ALRP program on March 15, 2016” and “approved the purchase and use of ALRP technology by unanimous vote.” The system is hosted by “T2 Systems, Inc, who has an agreement with Genetec AutoVu, who hosts ALPR technology and data for the Davis Police Department.” “ALPR cameras may be mounted on marked parking enforcement vehicles.” The policy then states that “An ALPR may be used in conjunction with any routine patrol operation or criminal investigation. Reasonable suspicion or probable cause is not required before using an ALPR,” and that hot list sources “may include” NCIC stolen vehicle, stolen plate, wanted person, missing person, supervised release and protection order files, the “NCIC Violent Gang and Terrorist Organization File,” “NCIC Sexual Offender,” DMV suspended registrations and “Parking Citation Data Files.” Data “will be stored for a period of one-year, and thereafter shall be purged” (as the policy hyphenates it) unless it has become evidence, and “The sale, sharing, or transfer of ALPR information, except as permitted by law, is prohibited.”[1]

What it does not establish

The packet describes a parking system and a policy that permits more than parking. Whether any of the listed hot lists have been queried, and how often, is not in any record we fetched. The council minutes for the 2024 hearing, the vendor agreement and its cost were not read on this pass; the city’s main website sits behind an edge our tools could not fetch.

Questions

What does Davis use license plate readers for?
The city's 2024 annual review says "The system was used for parking enforcement" and that the readers "are installed on parking enforcement vehicles and used for electronic chalking and e-permit verification." The same packet's policy allows use "in conjunction with any routine patrol operation or criminal investigation" and lists national crime database hot lists the readers may check. How often those checks run is not in any record we fetched. [1]
Is the data shared?
The 2024 review reports "Not shared." The policy states that "The sale, sharing, or transfer of ALPR information, except as permitted by law, is prohibited." [1]
Who reviews the program?
Under the city's surveillance technology ordinance (Municipal Code 26.07), each technology gets a written annual report and a public hearing. Since 2022 the reports go to the Police Accountability Commission 75 days before the council hearing. [1]

On the map

The community has mapped 160 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 Yolo County.

What we have documented in Yolo 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.
    City of Davis, City Council agenda item 05A, Surveillance Technology Renewals, staff report and policies, June 4, 2024 · Meeting record · · accessed · archived copy

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