Tempe considers banning license plate readers amid mounting privacy worries

TEMPE, Ariz. - The debate over automated license plate readers is intensifying in Arizona, with Tempe considering a ban on the technology while law enforcement agencies point to its use in criminal investigations.

Local Perspectives:

A month after Tempe shut down its Flock Safety license plate readers, the city is considering going further.

A proposed ordinance introduced on Sept. 24 would prohibit city agencies from using automated license plate readers or entering into, renewing or extending contracts involving the technology.

"Tonight is the first public hearing for an automatic license plate reader ALPR ban ordinance," Tempe Councilmember Bobby Nichols said at Sept. 24's council meeting.

Nichols said the ordinance was developed with input from community members, subject matter experts and city staff.

Tempe Police Chief Kenneth McCoy spoke at the meeting and said the department opposes the proposed ban, saying turning off the technology has affected ongoing investigations.

"The Tempe Police Department does not support that ban and cannot support this ordinance as written," McCoy said.

McCoy said there are current cases that could have been solved sooner had police still had access to ALPR data.

Dig deeper:

Under the proposed ordinance, the ban would include exemptions allowing the city to receive or use ALPR data obtained through a search warrant, court order or subpoena, as long as the city did not request or arrange for the data to be collected.

The proposed ordinance states that it would also allow limited non-law enforcement uses, such as parking lot or garage management, as long as the information is not shared with private third parties for inclusion in searchable databases.

The other side:

Other agencies are also pointing to recent uses of the technology.

This week, Casa Grande police said ALPRs helped them find shooting suspects, while Peoria police said the technology helped locate an 80-year-old.

Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple said his agency found positive uses for ALPRs but ultimately decided they did not outweigh his privacy concerns.

"If my deputies need a search warrant to put a physical tracker on a vehicle, where is the line for camera systems that build an identical AI driven map of a citizen’s life?" Teeple said during testimony in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

Teeple said he would support state legislation putting guardrails around the technology without limiting its full use.

Asked whether ALPRs could return to Pinal County, Teeple said:

"I like to answer this by telling you that in Pinal County, Flock has become a four letter word, so we’ll leave it at that."

The proposed ban in Tempe is not final.

The ordinance is scheduled to return to the Tempe City Council for a second reading and vote Thursday, Oct. 15.