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Police - ALPR Information

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1. What is an ALPR?

ALPR is a system of cameras and supporting software and server engines that captures license plate information and instantly compares plate numbers to a database of wanted criminals or persons of interest.

2. How does an ALPR work?

ALPR systems function to automatically capture an image of the vehicle’s license plate, transform that image into alphanumeric characters using optical character recognition or similar software, compare the plate number acquired to one or more databases of vehicles of interest to law enforcement and other agencies, and to alert the officer when a vehicle of interest has been observed.

3. Does an ALPR capture any Personally Identifiable Information (PII)?

ALPRs do not collect information on who is driving or riding in the vehicle, therefore, it is not considered Personally Identifiable Information (PII). The technology does not capture images of pedestrians or passerby. The ALPR cameras take still images of cars passing through the lens (not video), and cannot follow or track vehicles once they leave the camera’s view.

4. Does the ALPR capture the passengers of the vehicle or their personal information?

The ALPR camera does not identify any individual or access their personal information through its analysis of license plate numbers. The data captured by the ALPR unit itself is completely anonymous. There is no personally identifiable information contained in an ALPR record and the operator can only determine the registered owner of a vehicle by querying a separate, secure state government database of vehicle license plate records, which is restricted, controlled, and audited. 

(The Federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) restricts access and prohibits the release of personal information from State motor vehicle records to ensure the privacy of citizens. 18 USC § 2721-2725.)

5. Will ALPRs be used for traffic enforcement?

No. The ALPR cameras will not be used for traffic enforcement. The technology will be used to support WSPD in solving active criminal investigations. 

6. Can ALPR devices see into my vehicle and use facial recognition software?

Unlike red light cameras, ALPR devices do not have illumination to aid in identifying the driver or potential passengers of the vehicle. The purpose of the ALPR is to identify the vehicle, not the occupants. If ambient lighting is sufficient or a subject is outside and near the vehicle their image may be captured. The ALPR system is not designed to be used with facial recognition.

7. Is every ALPR image reviewed?

No, images are only reviewed by law enforcement personnel when required and based upon the need to:

• Locate Stolen, Wanted, or Suspect Vehicles.
• Locate Suspect(s) of Criminal Investigation or Arrest Warrant.
• Locate Witnesses or Victims of Violent Crime.
• Locate Missing Children and Elderly individuals (Amber / Silver Alerts). 
• Protect the Public during Special Events / Situational Awareness.
• Protect Critical Infrastructure

8. Does the ALPR system provide constant surveillance of my location?

No. ALPR systems do not provide constant surveillance of vehicles. The systems do provide authorized law enforcement personnel with a pointer for one moment in time and the location where a vehicle's license plate passed an ALPR device. 

9. Where are ALPR cameras located?

ALPR units will be deployed at fixed locations throughout the City, where they collect license plate information from vehicles on public roadways, public property and vehicles that are within public view. 

10. How is the system audited?

The system logs each user’s activity by name, date, time, and purpose of search. Audits shall be conducted semi-annually by WSPD to ensure compliance and the records of these audits shall be maintained for a minimum of three years. These records will be maintained by the WSPD ALPR Program Manager assigned to the Real-Time Crime Center. 

11. How will you address cybersecurity related to the cameras?

The cameras use cellular signals and there is no possible incoming connection to the camera. The cameras use ADF-256 encryption protocols, so any data that is on the camera itself is always encrypted. The data is encrypted in transit when it is being sent to the cloud, and Amazon AWS government cloud storage is used. All data is encrypted and rest in the cloud.

12. Can ALPR data be released outside of law enforcement?

Captured plate data obtained in accordance with Chapter 20 Article 3D of N.C.G.S. is confidential and not a public record as that term is defined in N.G.G.S. 132-1. Data shall not be disclosed except to a federal, State, or local law enforcement agency or public safety purpose pursuant to a written request from the requesting agency. N.C.G.S. 20-183. 22 defines a law enforcement agency as “any agency or officer of the State of North Carolina or any political subdivision thereof who is empowered by the laws of this State to conduct investigations or to make arrests and any attorney, including the Attorney General of North Carolina, authorized by the laws of this State to prosecute or participate in the prosecution of those persons arrested or persons who may be subject to civil actions related to or concerning an arrest. (2015-190, s. 1.)

13. What efforts will an officer have to make to ensure the ALPR data is accurate?

When an officer receives an ALPR alert, they must visually verify that  the ALPR read was accurate by ensuring the vehicle plate number matches the plate number run by the ALPR system and that the circumstances that resulted in the alert are still current (missing person/stolen vehicle). 

14. What data does an ALPR system collect?

ALPR systems typically capture the following information: a contextual photo of the vehicle, an image of the license plate, the geographic coordinates of where the image was captured, and the date and time of the recording. The systems also typically identify the specific camera/unit that captured the image. 

15. What is the retention period for the data collected?

FLOCK will automatically delete captured plate data after 30 days, which is 60 days before the deletion timeframe requried by state law. N.C.G.S. requires the data to be deleted after 90 days unless a specific exception is granted under N.C.G.S. 20-183.2 (b). The data will be permanently deleted from the system by FLOCK as indicated above.

16. How will it be destroyed?

All images are captured and stored in AWS; they are tagged with a “time to live” (TTL) which triggers deletion of the image. The image is fully removed from the cloud at that time and is fully unrecoverable by FLOCK, and the law enforcement agency. 

17. How will destruction be confirmed?

Destruction of captured plate data will be confirmed by the TTL tag that is associated with the captured plate data.

18. Under what circumstances will the data be retained for a longer period of time?

In accordance with N.C.G.S. 20-183.32  data obtained by an automatic license plate reader may be preserved for more than 90 days pursuant to any of the following: (1) A preservation request under subsection (c) of that section; 2) A search warrant issued pursuant to Article 11 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes; or (3) A federal search warrant issued in compliance with the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. One year from the date of the initial preservation request, the agency must destroy the captured plate data, unless another preservation request is received, in which case the retention period established under this subsection shall reset.

19. How long with the ALPRs be in use?

Under the FLOCK pilot program, the ALPRs will be utilized for one year.