SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council passed legislation Tuesday that approved a plan to expand automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology to all Seattle Police Department vehicles.
The technology will be used to help address crime throughout the city and help in investigations, the City Council said.
The ALPR system combines hardware that captures an image of a license plate with software that compares the number to a list of plates associated with open, reported crimes, and missing persons. If there is a match, the patrol officer must verify it for accuracy and confirm with dispatch before taking any action.
During an SPD presentation, members of the community expressed privacy concerns that could cause safety risks. To help address these concerns the City Council passed several amendments.
WATCH | Seattle City Council committee approves adding license plate readers to all SPD vehicles
The amendments address protecting the personal information of individual drivers to lower safety risks for people experiencing domestic violence, reduce the risk that data may be used to criminalize people seeking reproductive and gender-affirming care, and limit who has access to the data to a small number of trained personnel.
SPD said that all officers will be trained in how to use the dash cameras. They also said that the images, computer-interpreted license plate numbers, date, time, and GPS location are stored for 90 days. The data will be automatically deleted unless it has been flagged for helping to solve a case which would then be moved into an investigation file.
“In our great city, crime has compounded crime. When someone steals a car, it’s used to smash through a storefront, eroding safety and contributing to a permissive environment. Automated License Plate Reader technology is an essential tool to curtail crime at the source,” said Councilmember Kettle, who sponsored the bill.
In 2021, the Council approved a limited amount of license plate readers on 11 SPD vehicles to aid in locating stolen vehicles, crimes in progress, and finding missing persons.
The technology will be added to 360 police vehicles and will cost $280,000 a year beginning in 2024. The cost to cover the implementation of the ALPR system in all police vehicles is included in the 2024 SPD budget, the City Council said.
Since the bill has passed the Council, it will not head up to the mayor’s desk for final approval. If the bill is signed by Mayor Bruce Harrell it will go into effect 30 days afterward and will be implemented once terms are finalized with a provider.
“I believe ALPR gives police one more tool to combat crime in Seattle. Our city has seen a large and troubling increase in stolen cars, and the use of those cars to commit additional crimes,” said Councilmember Maritza Rivera. “I also believed we needed clearly defined privacy protections to mitigate any unintended consequences that could result from the use of this technology. Toward this end, I worked with SPD and Central Staff to craft an amendment that places parameters around who has access to the ALPR data, why the data is needed, and tracks who has requested access.”