Surveillance cameras tracking car license plates sounds like something out of a dystopian movie. But in fact, it’s the policy of the police force in Atherton, my hometown.

Infiltration of Foreign-Backed Criminal Organization

Burglary in Atherton has been on the rise for the past several years. To help combat this rise in crime, the Atherton City Council in 2020 agreed to install 16 surveillance cameras that capture the license plates of passing cars. The system is called the Automated License Reader System (“ALPR”). There are now around 50 cameras across our town which capture maybe 45 million vehicles annually, although the license plate numbers are only kept for 30 days.

While helping our police officers track and capture criminals is admirable, an article in our local paper, The Almanac, revealed that the Atherton police has been sharing the private information gathered with outside and Federal law enforcement agencies.

Violation of Privacy Laws?

Has it gone too far? Did our Atherton Council members intend for the ALPR information to be shared with so many outside agencies? On the one hand, we, the law-abiding citizens, shouldn’t be worried as we have nothing to hide. But what about our privacy rights? As I am now driving my own car, there is a level of discomfort that is triggered at the idea of some surveillance camera taking a picture of me that is then shared with who knows how many other agencies?

Surveillance violates our fundamental, constitutionally-protected right to privacy and should be used at the minimum level possible to achieve the security objective which in turn should be as narrowly defined as possible.