Opinion ID: 4579435
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the alpr system.

Text: The Police Department’s ALPR system uses cameras that capture images of passing vehicles’ license plates. The cameras can be stationary or mounted on a police vehicle. Once the camera captures a license plate image it converts that image into an alpha-numeric combination. In order to access that alpha-numeric combination and associated data, an officer of the Police Department must specifically log on to the ALPR software program. Logging on to the ALPR software program requires a unique log-in credential and password. Only officers who have completed the required training can gain access to the software. The Police Department employs the ALPR system for “active” and “passive” uses. “Active” use involves checking the license plates that are scanned against a “hot list.” The Virginia State Police publishes this “hot list” twice daily. The list consists of all active stolen license plates and vehicles from two databases, the National Crime Information Center (“NCIC”) and Virginia Criminal Information Network (“VCIN”). The hot list also contains license plates associated with suspected criminal activity, such as abductions. The hot list is available to authorized law enforcement personnel who can access it through a secure website. The hot list can be imported into the ALPR system either automatically through a server or manually by the end user. The end user may also manually enter a license plate into the ALPR system along with a notation regarding the reason for the entry, for example a stolen vehicle. While scanning license plates, the ALPR software alerts the operator when it detects a potential stolen vehicle or license plate. According to a Standard Operating Procedure (“SOP”) developed by the Police Department, “[a]n alarm is NOT conclusive confirmation that a license plate or vehicle is wanted, but an indicator that additional investigation is warranted.” If the 2 ALPR system alerts, the officer is instructed to visually verify the license plate, to make sure it is from the correct state and displays the same characters as the ones on the screen. The SOP then instructs the officer to make sure the hot list is still active by checking the NCIC/VCIN databases, either by running the information in a search on the computer in the car or by a voice request. The SOP further states that “[s]tolen vehicle or license plate responses from NCIC/VCIN shall be confirmed by Teletype in accordance with established procedures as soon as practical.” Additionally, if an officer makes contact with a suspect, the contact must be “documented as appropriate in the I/Leads Records Management System” or by “using the COMMENT button from the event screen in I/MOBILE.” The I/Leads system documents arrests or a contact between an officer and a suspect. There is no connection between the ALPR program and the I/Leads police report system. The two are separate systems. The ALPR database does not contain the name or other identifying information about the owner of the vehicle. To obtain this information, the officer must log off of the ALPR database and log on to a separate database, such as the VCIN, NCIC, or Department of Motor Vehicles (“DMV”) databases, that are maintained by other agencies. There is no computerized link between the ALPR database and these other databases. Beyond “active use,” the Police Department also engages in what the parties refer to as “passive use.” The Police Department maintains a database that stores the images that are captured, as well as the GPS coordinates of the locations where those images were captured. This data is stored for 364 days, after which time the information is purged. The database can be searched only by license plate number. Only police officers who are trained and certified as ALPR system users can query the database. The Police Department’s passive use of the ALPR system data is what is at issue in this case. 3