Data collected by automated license plate readers is exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Act, a California appellate court held this week. ALPRs scan license plates visible from their position and automatically check them against a “hot list” of license plates associated with suspected crimes. The court determined that the data collected by ALPRs is exempt from disclosure because it constitutes law enforcement records of investigations.
In ACLU v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, the ACLU submitted a PRA request for policies and guidelines concerning the use of ALPR technology, as well as for all data collected by ALPRs used by both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department during a single week in August 2012. The LAPD and LASD refused to produce the data, citing the law enforcement investigative records exemption and privacy concerns. The ACLU sued for disclosure, and both the trial and appellate courts found that the investigations exemption applies to all data collected by ALPRs.
This case confirms that law enforcement agencies are not required to release ALPR data following PRA requests. More importantly, it may provide an indication of how courts will treat similar data systemically collected by law enforcement agencies, such as footage from body worn cameras or drones used for surveillance. Because these technologies are used to further police investigations into whether a crime has been committed, and because the exemption is in no way limited to investigations that are still ongoing, this case serves as a strong argument that these types of data will not be subject to disclosure under the PRA, preserving the ability of law enforcement officers to use these tools without fear of disclosure harming their investigations, or the privacy of those whose data may be recorded.
The ALPR systems in place record all plate scan data, whether or not there is a hit off the hot list, and retain that data for up to five years for use in future investigations. The LAPD estimates it records plate scan data for approximately 1.2 million cars per week, while LASD estimates between 1.7 and 1.8 million. Both policies restrict access to plate scan data to use for law enforcement purposes only. The court focused on the meaning of the term “investigations,” determining that the functions performed by the ALPR systems fit within the exemption. The court indicated that the exemption encompasses routine investigations undertaken to determine if a violation of law has, or may have, occurred without distinguishing between investigations to determine if a crime has been committed and those undertaken once criminal conduct is apparent. Further, the court emphasized that the exemption is not limited to “pending investigations,” but covers all investigations by law enforcement agencies.
The ACLU argued that, unlike cases involving requests for documents related to targeted investigations of specific criminal acts, plate scans are not precipitated by a specific criminal investigation, and so ALPRs do not conduct investigations so much as they collect data. The court disagreed, holding that ALPR scans are precipitated by specific criminal investigations—namely, the investigations that produced the hot list against which all scans are checked.
