Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office plans to deploy cameras to read license plates

Oct. 21—Santa Fe County deputies will soon join other area law enforcement officers who use cameras equipped with license plate-recognition technology to monitor vehicles on roadways.

The technology can automatically detect and store license plate numbers using cameras placed on poles along roads or mounted on patrol vehicles. It has been praised by police as an unprecedented tool for reducing crime, but critics have raised concerns about the potential for abuse and mass surveillance.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office plans to install the cameras in the coming months, following installation of similar technology by New Mexico State Police and agencies in Española, Pojoaque and Albuquerque.

Undersheriff Ken Johnson said the office is planning to deploy mobile cameras on 20 patrol vehicles — in a fleet of about 50 — and set up two fixed cameras in the county and two mobile "quick-deploy units" that can be moved to different locations.

The technology sends alerts to officers when cameras detect license plate numbers linked to stolen vehicles or other crimes.

The system has not been purchased, Johnson said, but the sheriff's office has obtained a quote from Vigilant Solutions, a subsidiary of Motorola. Officials plan to use $600,000 in state funding for the purchase, which was approved by the Santa Fe County Commission earlier this month.

Johnson said it will be several months before the cameras are installed.

"We'll deploy them as we need them, in areas where we either have an uptick in crime or for an investigation," he said.

The cameras will be a "useful tool" for deputies, Johnson said, by helping them find stolen vehicles and drivers with warrants or expired registrations.

"By having that information readily available, I think it will assist us in reducing crime in problem areas," he said.

Automatic license plate recognition technology has drawn concern from some civil rights advocates, who argue the systems could be used to track certain drivers' whereabouts.

Jennifer Burrill, a public defender and president of the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, said such systems amount to a "phishing expedition."

"There should have to be some violation of the law that's visible in order to make a stop," Burrill said, though she acknowledged courts have ruled in favor of departments using automatic license plate readers.

At least 17 states have passed laws that regulate use of the technology by law enforcement and private entities, with limits to the amount of time license plate data can be stored and how it can be shared, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. No such law has been passed in New Mexico.

The American Civil Liberties Union recommends departments adopt policies that provide for the deletion of data that doesn't create "hits" within three minutes, as required under New Hampshire law. Other states allow for data to be stored for up to 150 days.

A Department of Public Safety policy for the use of automatic license plate readers by New Mexico State Police requires most of the data collected by the system to be purged every 10 days. The Albuquerque Police Department's policy requires data to be purged after 14 days.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office does not yet have a policy on the use of license plate readers, but Johnson said it is working to develop a policy and plans to have it in place before the cameras are deployed.

No decision has been made about limits to retaining data in the system, he added.

The program will have a designated administrator, Johnson said, and the department will perform internal audits on a regular basis to "ensure the system is being used properly."

Santa Fe police do not use automatic license plate readers, but Deputy Chief Ben Valdez said the department tested the technology several years ago and found it was effective in addressing stolen vehicles.

The cost of the system was "a big barrier," Valdez said, but police have much of the equipment in place, such as car-mounted cameras, that could be used for a license plate-recognition program.