Public Information Session
Tuesday, September 22 | 6 - 8 p.m.
Margerum City Hall | 222 N. Chauncey Avenue
Presentation + Q&A

The West Lafayette Police Department (WLPD) invites community members to a public information session about the department's use of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology.

Questions and concerns about license plate reader technology have increased locally and nationally, particularly around privacy, data collection, information sharing, and the appropriate use of technology by law enforcement.

This session is intended to provide a clear look at how WLPD uses ALPR technology - including why the department uses it, what vehicle information the cameras capture, how officers may use that information during an investigation, what the technology does not do, and the safeguards and limitations governing its use in West Lafayette.

Police Chief Adam Ferguson will guide attendees through the system using screenshots and his own vehicle as a case study. Participants will be able to see how an ALPR detection records a vehicle passing a particular camera at a particular time, what vehicle information is captured, what an authorized officer sees when conducting a search for a law-enforcement purpose, how that information can assist an investigation, and the limitations of the technology.

The discussion will also address how long information is retained, when officers are permitted to search it, how searches are logged and subject to audit or review, and the legal, policy, and operational limits governing WLPD's use of the technology.

Attendees will also learn about the difference between cameras operated by WLPD and ALPR information available through authorized sharing; the limits governing that access; and the requirement that officers independently evaluate and corroborate system alerts rather than treating an ALPR alert, by itself, as proof of criminal activity.

Real-world examples will be used to explain how ALPR technology has assisted WLPD with public-safety needs and criminal investigations.

A representative from Flock Safety, WLPD's ALPR technology provider, will also attend to serve as a technical resource and answer questions about the technology and system.

What This Session Is

This is an opportunity to:

• Learn how WLPD currently uses ALPR technology.
• See what information the technology captures — and what it does not, including the distinction between identifying a vehicle and identifying the person driving it.
• Understand when and why an officer may search ALPR information.
• Learn about WLPD's safeguards, limitations, retention practices, and accountability measures.
• Hear examples of how the technology may assist an investigation.
• Ask questions directly of WLPD and a technical representative from Flock Safety.
• Discuss questions and concerns related to privacy, civil rights, public safety, and the appropriate use of law-enforcement technology.

What This Session Is Not

This is not a sales presentation for Flock Safety. The session is being led by WLPD to explain the department's use of the technology. The Flock Safety representative will participate as a technical resource.

This is not an announcement of an expansion of WLPD's ALPR program.

This is not a live demonstration involving community members or searches of their vehicles. Chief Ferguson will use screenshots and his own vehicle to illustrate how the system functions. By comparing ALPR detections of his vehicle with his actual movements during the same period, Chief Ferguson will examine what can reasonably be learned from ALPR data, and what the data fails to reveal.

And, this session is not intended to suggest that questions or concerns about law-enforcement technology are unreasonable.

The use of law-enforcement technology carries a responsibility to establish clear limits, safeguards, and accountability. Community members should be able to understand both the public-safety purpose of a tool and the safeguards intended to reduce the risk of misuse and provide accountability.

At the heart of this discussion is an important principle: civil rights and public safety are not competing interests.

Protecting the community includes both using appropriate tools to investigate crime and respecting constitutional rights, privacy, and the public's trust.

The goal of this session is transparency and education - to give community members an opportunity to see what WLPD's ALPR technology actually does, what it does not do, how WLPD uses it, where its limitations are, and what safeguards are in place to help ensure it is used appropriately and responsibly.

Questions are encouraged.