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The first automatic license plate cameras are now operational in Mountain View, capturing the license plate numbers and other information of passing vehicles.
Eleven automated license plate readers – known as ALPRs – have been installed in Mountain View, plus one within Palo Alto’s borders that is serving Mountain View, city spokesperson Lenka Wright said. The city plans to install another 18 ALPRs on streetlights and signal poles throughout Mountain View, for a total of 30 cameras.
The Mountain View City Council voted in May 2024 to approve a one-year ALPR pilot program, despite objections from some community members who expressed privacy concerns. The Mountain View Police Department argued that the technology is a powerful tool to improve public safety. The council’s vote authorized the city to enter into a contract with Flock Safety to install the cameras.
Originally, the council approved the installation of 24 cameras, but delegated authority to the city manager to modify that number, as well as the cameras’ locations. According to Wright, additional cameras were added to “increase areas with thin coverage,” and the locations of certain cameras have changed.
The cameras automatically take photos of the back of passing vehicles, capturing rear license plates, as well as information like vehicles’ makes and models. That data is then cross-checked with a national database to identify stolen cars, as well as cars associated with a missing person or criminal investigation. Police can also query the information that the cameras collect to aid in law enforcement investigations.
Although a dozen cameras are already operational, the city plans to have the one-year pilot program end a year after the final cameras are installed, Wright said. In approving the pilot last May, the City Council called for the program to be brought back for a vote on its continuation after the pilot year.
Out of the 18 remaining cameras to install, 12 are within Caltrans jurisdiction. Two of these cameras are pending installation and the city is waiting for the state agency to issue permits for the other 10, Wright said.
“Although there is no specific date, the process is moving along well, and we anticipate Caltrans permits to be issued soon,” Wright said.
There are also five more cameras in Mountain View and one in Palo Alto that are in the permitting process, Wright said.
Just in time for Kash Patel to be the head of the FBI, immigration crackdowns, and other major changes since this was approved in May 2024. The city doesn’t send data directly to the feds but it does put all of our driving habits into a database that other law enforcement agencies can query without asking us and without abiding by our city policies.
ok X. So they query it for your license plate….and it returns a hit. They found you! So what? They could also go and sit outside your house(legally) and follow you around (legally). Not sure what you’re worried about here. False Positives, though is a real thing. But probably fewer of those than human-driven false positives
Or the feds can also just get a warrant to ask you cell phone company for your cell tower pings. Then they REALLY know everywhere you’ve been. Do you turn off your phone when you drive?
@ X. So, if you’re not breaking the law, i.e. driving around in a stolen vehicle and breaking in/stealing other vehicles, you should have nothing to worry about.
Please read …
-> 1984 (George Orwell)
-> “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” (B Franklin) And especially this discussion of the quote … https://www.leyadelray.com/2020/05/04/a-quote-in-context-what-did-franklin-really-think-about-liberty-and-safety/
-> And, of course, Martin Niemoller … https://unreadpoetssociety.com/2022/12/11/first-they-came-poem-by-martin-niemoller-poem-meaning-summary-and-poem-analysis/
Casually dismissing personal liberty is lazy, dangerous government.
So what about all the cars that do not have a front plate? or removed the car id or even better change the car brand to another?
We cannot in good faith continue with this policy given the current US administration. Disable the readers ASAP.
You’d change your tune the next time your house is burglarized and the cops tell you: sorry. Good luck!
As of January this year crime is at a historical low. Let us not be panic stricken just because somebody supposedly eats cats and dogs in Springfield. But perhaps something has changed post January? Right, we now have a new wave of unemployed and homeless folks. Look, a time stamped license plate picture is big brother surveillance and an encroachment on our basic rights of freedom from unjust persecution. No thank you mate.
Currently the cameras automatically take photos of the back of passing vehicles so they do not know who may be in the front seat for ID. Is this only one picture recorded per vehicle for analysis? Will the system be expandable to issue traffic violations? Is the system called a camera but actually records a video file but will only process the plate data collected?
“Although a dozen cameras are already operational, the city plans to have the one-year pilot program end a year after the final cameras are installed, Wright said.”
Oh great, so all they have to do is NOT install that final camera and we get a surveillance state for as long as they want.