-Editorial
The Calexico Police Department is using a network of automated license plate readers to identify stolen vehicles entering the border city, a technology Police Chief Armando Orozco says has contributed to a significant increase in stolen vehicle arrests while raising questions among some residents about privacy and data use.
The department currently has 17 license plate readers, commonly known as LPRs, along with four live-view cameras, Orozco said. The equipment is provided by Flock Safety and has been funded through grants rather than the city’s general fund.
“Not a dime gets paid by the citizens of Calexico,” Orozco said. “We have access to it. We have control over it.”
Orozco said the department initially obtained cameras through a grant intended to provide security at polling locations. Police later pursued additional grants and other outside funding to expand the system.
The cameras have become particularly useful because of Calexico’s location along the U.S.-Mexico border, Orozco said. While vehicles are stolen locally, he said the city also serves as a route for stolen vehicles originating in other parts of Southern California and heading toward Mexico.
“We realize that we have a transient stolen vehicle problem coming through Calexico,” Orozco said. “Cars get stolen in every city, but because we’re a border city, we get cars that are stolen from L.A., from San Diego, from Riverside, and they flow through here.”
According to Orozco, alerts from the cameras have helped officers identify vehicles that otherwise might have passed through the city without being detected.
The chief estimated that stolen vehicle arrests have increased by about 400% since the technology was implemented. He attributed much of that increase to alerts generated by the license plate readers.
“This year, it’s been the first year that I can remember, at least over a decade, that one of my officers got what’s called a 1051 pin,” Orozco said, referring to a recognition associated with stolen vehicle recoveries. “That’s mainly to do with the Flock cameras that have assisted us.”
The cameras also can help officers determine whether a stolen vehicle has already crossed into Mexico, Orozco said. If investigators review camera information and determine that a vehicle traveled south several hours earlier, officers can redirect their efforts rather than continuing to search for it within Calexico.
“That saves us resources of having officers being on the lookout for the stolen car that’s no longer in the country,” he said.
Orozco also addressed concerns about surveillance and privacy. He said the license plate readers are designed primarily to capture vehicle and license plate information rather than identify the person driving.
“All these do is just log that the vehicle was there,” Orozco said. “They don’t know if you were driving it or I was driving it. It doesn’t say who was driving the vehicle. It just says the vehicle was there.”
Orozco said license plate reader information is retained for one month before it is erased. He said the limited retention period means the department does not maintain years of historical information about motorists’ movements.
“The information on the LPRs, we only keep them a month,” Orozco said. “It’s one month, and then it gets erased.”
To address potential misuse, Orozco said officers conducting license plate searches must associate the search with a police report number. The requirement allows supervisors to audit searches and determine whether there was a legitimate law enforcement purpose.
“When they query a license plate, we’re making a requirement that they have to add a report number,” Orozco said.
If an audit determines that a searched plate has no connection to the corresponding police report, Orozco said the department could consider that improper use and take action.
The cameras are positioned primarily along major traffic arteries and locations where vehicles are likely to enter, leave, or travel through Calexico, Orozco said. He said concentrating equipment at those locations allows the department to make more effective use of the grant-funded system.
The technology can also be used in investigations involving serious crimes or missing children. If authorities have information about a suspect vehicle, its license plate can be entered into the system to help determine whether it passes another participating camera.
Orozco said the network can extend beyond Calexico because participating law enforcement agencies can receive information when vehicles connected to their investigations are detected elsewhere.
The department’s four live-view cameras serve a different purpose from the license plate readers. Orozco said one is used to monitor the area near the Calexico West Port of Entry, where officers sometimes respond to fights and other incidents, particularly during weekend hours.
Despite the expanded capabilities, Orozco characterized the technology as a tool to assist officers rather than replace traditional police work.
“It’s a helper,” Orozco said. “It’s an ability that we do have now.”
For Calexico police, Orozco said the system’s primary day-to-day function remains identifying stolen vehicles entering or traveling through the city and providing officers with information that can help them determine where to focus limited personnel and resources.
