On Talk of the Bay we explore a controversial new proposal to install 22 high-speed automated license plate image capture cameras at busy intersections in the city of Santa Cruz. The proposal has been placed on the consent agenda of the Santa Cruz City Council for a vote tomorrow night (Tuesday, November 28), and Peter Gelblum, Chair of the Santa Cruz Chapter of the ACLU joins the show to discuss why they have filed an urgent request to delay the vote to allow more time for public input and thoughtful discussion about this potentially invasive and costly technology.
These high-speed automated license plate readers (ALPR’s) capture license plate numbers off every vehicle that passes the camera, and upload the time, date, and locations of the plates to large, searchable databases owned and operated by private companies that are not transparent or accountable to the public or elected officials.
The City of Menlo Park recently decided to not use ALPRs, in significant part because there was no demonstrated need or positive impact of the system. https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2023/09/29/citing-privacy-concerns-menlo-park-says-no-to-automated-license-plate-readers
What do you think?
