Chico residents are calling on the City Council to take down the Police Department’s automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras and create a citizen-led oversight committee.
The outcry came during Tuesday’s City Council meeting, and followed an investigation by ChicoSol that found the department had been sharing data with ICE and other out-of-state agencies, possibly violating state law.
Many speakers were with the local advocacy group Concerned Community for Justice (CC4J, including Ann Polivka. She raised privacy concerns about the cameras, which collect location data that can be used to trace patterns in people’s movements.
“Everybody that goes through the intersection that has these cameras up there that takes pictures of their vehicles is subjected to having their privacy rights diminished, their First Amendment rights diminished,” Polivka told NSPR.
Diane Suzuki, also with CC4J, said the council should direct Chico police to stop using the cameras.
“We're calling for the Motorola contracts to be canceled, but also I'm calling for the cameras be taken down,” Suzuki said. “It's been a violation. Take them down.”
The calls come as cities across California reconsider their use of license plate readers. Nearby Grass Valley recently voted to take down its cameras.
Mayor Kasey Reynolds said at Tuesday’s meeting that the issue needs a fuller discussion.
“I really think this needs to be an extensive conversation opened up, and it might need to be an agenda where we don’t have a lot on the agenda because I think there’s a lot to talk about,” Reynolds said.
The council didn’t take any immediate action because the item wasn’t on the agenda.
But the council is expected to discuss the topic at a meeting in September. That’s when an internal investigation into the police department’s data sharing is expected to be released.
