SALT LAKE CITY — As multiple departments across Utah have backed off using license plate reader cameras in recent weeks, the Salt Lake City Police Department defended its support for the controversial technology.
In a social media post Tuesday, the department listed reasons it will keep using the cameras it has used for 10 years, and the guardrails it claims are in place to protect privacy.
"[License plate camera] technology is a valuable tool for keeping our community safe," the department wrote. "It has helped officers and detectives locate many stolen vehicles, violent felons, and hit-and-run suspects."
The department shared that any data collected through its cameras must be destroyed within nine months, unless it is to be used as part of an investigation, court order or warrant. It added that Salt Lake City Police owns the data it collects, but does not sell or share it for commercial purposes.
The post listed the permitted uses for the cameras in Utah:
- Active criminal investigations
- Identifying vehicles related to wanted individuals
- Locating missing or endangered persons
- Locating stolen vehicles
Support for the cameras by the Salt Lake City Police Department comes after multiple cities in Utah, including Millcreek, Washington Terrace, and Tremonton-Garland, have stopped using the technology following nationwide pushback over privacy concerns.
The Tremonton-Garland Police Department said it "did not find sufficient benefit to justify the potential cost, or the privacy concerns associated with the continued use of the technology."
Cox 'deeply troubled' by Flock camera privacy issues, vows review of state system:
Last month, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said he was "deeply troubled" over privacy issues connected with the cameras, and ordered a state review of the systems.
"To make sure that [the cameras] are not being abused," the governor said. "To make sure that the public understands how and when they can be used, and if there are abuses taking place, that people are held accountable.
"We're not going to allow that here."
