429 Automated License Plate Reader (Issued 05-25-2022)FRIDLEY POLICE DATE OF ISSUE NUMBER:
GENERAL ORDER May 25, 2022 429
SUBJECT: REVISION DATE SECTION:
Automated License Plate Reader New Green
I. PURPOSE
Automated license plate reader technology (ALPR) may be used to support a wide
range of public safety activities including revoked/suspended/canceled driver
interdiction, stolen vehicle recovery, enforcement of traffic regulations,
apprehension of individuals subject to an outstanding warrant, locate missing and
endangered persons, and criminal and terrorist investigations/interdiction. ALPR
devices enable police officers to recognize and take immediate action against
vehicles and persons who are subject to investigative detention or arrest. The data
collected by ALPRs can also provide investigative leads to identify known
vehicles, to gather data about known suspect vehicles, and to locate potential
suspects, witnesses, or victims in the vicinity of a crime.
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance for the collection, storage, and
use of data obtained using ALPR technology.
II. POLICY
The policy of the Fridley Police Department is to utilize ALPR technology to
capture and store digital license plate data and images while recognizing the
established privacy rights of the public. Any use of an ALPR system by the
Fridley Police Department shall comply with MSS § 13.824 and any other
applicable statutes.
III. REFERENCES
Minnesota Statute § 13.37 General Nonpublic Data
Minnesota Statute § 13.824 Automated License Plate Readers
IV. DEFINITIONS
Automated License Plate Reader
Per MSS § 13.824, Automated License Plate Reader means an electronic device
mounted on a law enforcement vehicle or positioned in a stationary location that
is capable of recording data on, or taking a photograph of, a vehicle or its license
plate and comparing the collected data and photographs to existing law
enforcement databases for investigative purposes. Automated license plate reader
includes a device that is owned or operated by a person who is not a government
entity to the extent that data collected by the reader are shared with a law
enforcement agency.
Be on the Lookout (BOLO)
A determination by a law enforcement agency that there is a legitimate and
specific law enforcement reason related to an active criminal investigation to
identify or locate a particular vehicle.
Manual Hot List
A compilation of license plates or partial license plates for which a BOLO
situation exists, and that information is programmed by a user into the ALPR
system so that an officer will receive an alert if the ALPR reads a license plate
that matches a license plate included on the list.
Manual Hot Plate Entry
A determination by a law enforcement agency that there is a legitimate and
specific law enforcement reason related to an active criminal investigation to
identify or locate a particular vehicle.
Stored Data
All information captured by an ALPR and stored in the device’s memory or in a
separate storage device or system. This includes the recorded image of a license
plate which has been read, optical character recognition data, a contextual photo
of the vehicle, GPS data, ALPR device data, timestamp, and hotlist information.
This term refers to both alert data and non-alert data.
Alert Data
Information captured by an ALPR relating to a license plate that matches the
license plate on a BOLO or Hotlist.
Minnesota License Plate Data File
A data file provided by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Bureau of
Criminal Apprehension that contains FBI and Minnesota license plate related Hot
File data on stolen and felony vehicles, wanted persons, and attempts to locate.
The FBI Hot File records represent all 50 states, the District of Columbia, certain
United States Territories, and Canada. The file also contains license plate related
data on Minnesota Driver and vehicle Services registered vehicles where an
operator’s license was withdrawn (suspended, canceled, disqualified, or revoked).
This file contains no live data.
Read
The process by which the ALPR focuses on, photographs, and converts a picture
of a license plate to digital text that comes within a range of the ALPR that then
may be compared against the Minnesota License Plate Data File or Manual Hot
List.
Designated Supervisor
A superior officer assigned to oversee and administer, or assist in overseeing and
administering, the use of the ALPR devices and/or stored ALPR data. There may
be more than one designated supervisor. The Public Safety Director will assign
the Designated Supervisor(s).
Historical ALPR Data
The process of accessing and reviewing stored ALPR data to gather information
about known vehicles, to identify unknown vehicles and/or to identify vehicles in
the area of a crime scene.
V. PROCEDURE
A. Operations
Use of an ALPR is restricted to the purposes outlined below. Department
members shall not use, or allow others to use, the equipment or database
records for any unauthorized purpose.
1. An ALPR shall only be used for official law enforcement business.
2. An ALPR may be used in conjunction with any routine patrol operation or
criminal investigation. Reasonable suspicion or probable cause is not
necessary before using the ALPR.
3. While an ALPR may be used to canvass license plates around any crime
scene, particular consideration should be given to using ALPR-equipped
cars to canvass around homicides, shootings, and other major incidents.
4. No member of this department shall operate ALPR equipment or access
ALPR data without first completing department-approved training.
5. No ALPR operator may access confidential department, state, or federal
data unless authorized to do so.
6. When an officer receives an alert on the ALPR, the system will notify the
officer visually and/or audibly to a match. The officer shall then verify the
information is current, by running the information through the real-time
Criminal Justice Information Services data system prior to taking action.
7. Any problems with the ALPR system should be immediately reported to
the ALPR administrator or a supervisor.
B. BOLO/Hotlists Content and Use
1. A license plate number or partial license plate number shall only be
included in a Fridley Police Department generated BOLO list when there
is a legitimate and specific law enforcement reason to identify or locate
that particular vehicle or any person reasonably believed to be associated
with that vehicle.
2. BOLO/hotlists may be downloaded in batch from other databases
including but not limited to those provided by the MN Department of
Public Safety.
3. BOLO/hotlists shall be updated as frequently as practicable and not less
than daily.
4. A license plate number or partial license plate number shall only be
entered in the Fridley Police Department Manual Hot List when there is
legitimate and specific law enforcement reason related to an active
criminal investigation to identify or locate that particular vehicle or any
person reasonably associated with that vehicle.
5. If an Officer receives an alert based on a Manual Hot List entry, they must
follow Procedure Section V.6 and confirm that current legal justification
exists to take action on the alert.
6. A Manual Hot List entry may not be used as a substitute for an entry into
any other databases such as Minnesota of FBI Hot Files, Nation Crime
Information Center (NCIC), or Keeping Our Police Safe (KOPS) files, if
appropriate.
C. Restrictions, Notifications, and Audits
1. The Fridley Police Department will observe the following guidelines
regarding ALPR use (Minnesota Statute § 13.824):
a. Data collected by an ALPR will be limited to:
1) License plate numbers
2) Date, time, and location of data captured
3) Pictures of license plates, vehicles, and areas surrounding
the vehicle captured
b. ALPR data may only be matched with the Minnesota license plate
data file, unless additional sources are needed for an active
criminal investigation.
c. ALPRs shall not be used to monitor or track an individual unless
done so under a search warrant or because of exigent
circumstances.
d. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shall be notified
within ten (10) days of any installation or use and of any fixed
location of an ALPR.
2. Log of Use Required
a. A public log of the use of an ALPR shall be maintained by the
Fridley Police Department, which contains:
1) Specific times of day that the reader actively collected data
2) The aggregate number of vehicles or license plates on
which data are collected for each period of active use and a
list of all state and federal databases with which the data
were compared, unless the existence of the database itself
is not public
3) For each period of active use, the number of vehicles or
license plates in each of the following categories where the
data identify a vehicle or license plate that:
i. Has been stolen
ii. Alerts to a warrant for the arrest of the owner of the
vehicle
iii. Alerts to an owner with a suspended or revoked
driver's license or similar category
iv. Contains active investigative data
4) For a reader at a stationary or fixed location, the location at
which the reader actively collected data and is installed
and used
5) A list of the current and previous locations, including dates
at those locations, of any fixed stationary ALPRs or other
surveillance devices with ALPR capability used by the
Fridley Police Department
6) The list must be accessible to the public, unless the data is
security information as defined by MSS § 13.37, Subd. 2.
3. Biennial Audit
a. An independent biennial audit of ALPR data shall be conducted to
ensure:
1) Whether data currently in the records are classified
2) How the data are used
3) Whether the data are destroyed as required by MSS §
13.824 Subd. 3
4) Compliance with authorization to access requirements
specified by MSS § 13.824 Subd. 7
b. The results of the audit are public
c. A report summarizing the results of each audit shall be provided to
the commissioner of administration, to the chairs and ranking
minority members of the committees of the house of
representatives and the senate with jurisdiction over data practices
and public safety issues, and to the Legislative Commission on
Data Practices and Personal Data Privacy no later than 30 days
following completion of the audit.
VI. DATA COLLECTION AND RETENTION
A. The Support Division Commander is responsible for ensuring systems and
processes are in place for the proper collection and retention of ALPR data.
All ALPR stored data shall be kept in a secure data storage system with access
restricted to authorized persons.
B. The Department’s ALPR data record keeping system shall document the date,
time, authorized user, requester, and the reason code for historical searches
used to gather information about known vehicles.
C. ALPR data shall be retained in accordance with State of Minnesota data
retention schedules, after which, the data shall be purged from the data storage
system. ALPR data not associated with an active criminal investigation shall
be destroyed no later than 60 days from the date of collection.
VII. ACCESS AND USE OF STORED ALPR DATA
A. Only users authorized by the Public Safety Director or their designee may
access stored ALPR data.
B. An authorized user may access stored ALPR data in a historical query only as
part of an active investigation or for another legitimate law enforcement
business purpose.
C. Once ALPR stored data has been identified as of evidentiary value, the ALPR
data shall be copied to an investigative file.
VIII. RELEASING ALPR DATA
The ALPR data may be shared with other law enforcement or prosecutorial
authorities for official law enforcement purposes or as otherwise permitted by
law, using the following procedures in accordance with Minnesota Statute §
13.824:
A. The agency makes a written request for the ALPR data that includes:
1. The name of the agency
2. The name of the person making the request
3. The intended purpose of obtaining the information
4. A record of t he factual basis for the access and any associated case
number, complaint, or incident that is the basis for the access
B. The request shall be reviewed by the Support Division Commander, or
another person authorized by the Public Safety Director or their designee
1. A release must, at a minimum, be on a reasonable suspicion that the
data is pertinent to an active criminal investigation
C. The approved request shall be retained on file