Los Banos police to install license plate readers in city. Here’s how they work

Los Banos may soon receive a new technological set of tools to help solve crimes and look out for suspicious vehicles.

The city’s police department gave a presentation to the City Council last week about its plans to use Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) in the city.

The ALPR technology reads license plates as drivers pass through the city. As a result, officers say they are provided with information that can help with criminal investigations.

The smart technology records license plate information and stores it, helping alert police if a vehicle is stolen or on a wanted list.

Los Banos Police Cmdr. Ray Reyna said the department would have the ability to decide which license plates they look at, and cross reference stolen vehicle information in the Department of Motor Vehicles’ wanted system.

For example, if police were looking for a certain vehicle connected to a robbery, officers could use the technology to look for similar vehicles that passed through an area during a certain time frame.

“We can go into our law enforcement database, run the plates and say ‘oh this car comes back to somebody we’ve been looking for that’s been involved in another robbery,” explained Reyna.

Plus, police say the technology can also help locate fugitives sought by law enforcement, stolen vehicles and vehicles associated with the Amber Alerts or Silver Alerts.

The city has budgeted $49,000 for the project. The department’s contemplating putting four of the cameras at an intersection (the location is still to be determined).

The license plate readers do not provide information like the driver’s date of birth, social security number, or criminal records.

Reyna said the technology would be “instrumental in assisting in solving crimes, bringing criminals to justice, and when applicable provide information that will allow us to eventually bring closure to victims’ families when those things occur.”

Because the item was information only, the City Council did not take action.

Still, the majority of council members voiced support for having the system in place. “I’m just happy to see that we’re going to get these, I think these will be a tremendous help,” Councilman Brett Jones said.

Councilmember Deborah Lewis shared similar thoughts. “I’m just happy to see new technology coming to our city to help us,” she said.

Privacy concerns raised elsewhere

While officers say the technology will be instrumental in solving crimes, critics and civil liberties advocates at the national level have said there’s no shortage of privacy concerns associated with the devices.

Wired technology magazine in 2015 published an article outlining many of the concerns raised about the technology. According to Wired, the FBI’s Office of General Counsel had concerns about the agency’s use of the technology and the possible issues associated with protecting the civil liberties of citizens whose vehicles are photographed.

That information was obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union through a public records request, Wired reported.

Car and Driver magazine, along with other publications, have also written extensively about the privacy concerns associated with license plate readers.

Reyna said similar concerns haven’t been raised publicly in Los Banos thus far. He said the department is concerned about protecting the privacy of citizens, but information gathered on city streets and highways is considered public.

“License plates are there to be viewed by the public. We’re not recording the face of the drivers, we’re not trying to see what your kids look like in the car. We’re simply looking at the license plate which is there for public view,” he said.

Technology already used in Merced County

Lt. Emily Foster at the Merced Police Department said her agency already has an ALPR system in place.

In 2019 alone, the Merced Police Department was able to collect 15 million license plate scans, according to the Atlas of Surveillance website.

The Atwater Police Department also uses an ALPR system, according to city documents.

This story was originally published June 10, 2021 at 12:27 PM.