SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City currently uses 70 automatic license plate readers, some of which record plates in high-traffic areas like 700 East near Liberty Park.
The cameras have been in use for a decade, but many people, like Christa Baxter, said they still have questions about how they’re used.
“I think, like any kind of technology, I’m really concerned about who has access to it and what safeguards there are," said Baxter. "There’s just too many stories of people in law enforcement or other agencies who will use that for their own purposes.”
Gibbs Baracka was unaware that license plate readers were already in use throughout the city.
“Yeah, it does freak me out!" he said. "I feel like that’s something that when you go to the DMV it should be given to us and shown to us, these are the areas where the cameras are so you should be aware that the cameras are around here.”
Salt Lake Police Chief Brian Redd said his department is now trying to reassure residents that their concerns are being addressed.
“I think we’re listening; we’re trying to figure out how we can ensure that our officers are using it appropriately," Redd said. "That it’s not creating an undue invasion of privacy, civil liberties.”
Redd's command staff is currently working with Salt Lake City Council members on a proposed ordinance that would clarify specifics regarding use and potential misuse of this technology.
In particular, Council Chair Alejandro Puy shared how it's probably time to revise how long the reader images are kept on the cloud, which is currently nine months.
“So we are putting in code, or debating to put in code, a system of auditing, for example. And clear consequences in case it is misused," Puy explained. "We want to ensure that the use is correctly monitored, and we want to add the protections that the public deserves.”
