Amid growing concerns for citizens’ privacy and potential misuse, the Chicago Police Department over the weekend unveiled a draft of a new policy governing officers’ use of automated license plate reader technology.
External ALPR cameras are perched on busy streets across the city and along area expressways, though the city and CPD do not own those devices. The policy also applies to ALPRs affixed to CPD vehicles, which are owned by the city. Members of the public can submit comments on the policy draft until Nov. 12, according to the department.
The policy — not yet implemented as part of CPD’s directives — orders that videos and still images collected by the cameras be erased after 30 days unless they hold evidentiary value.
In a statement, the department said ALPRs “play a vital role in the investigation of violent crimes, shootings, and homicides. ALPR Systems also assist in high-risk missing persons investigations. Given the importance of this technology in the Chicago Police Department’s public safety efforts, we have continued to assess the use of these systems.”
Many of the external ALPRs are owned and operated by Flock Safety, and query access to those external cameras would be limited to Police Department members who receive approval from a bureau chief, according to the department. The draft policy also includes guardrails so that each search request can be traced back to the CPD member who submitted it. The department would also conduct random audits of submitted searches.
The draft policy also highlights prohibitions on data sharing laid out in a state law that went into effect in 2024. That statute forbids sharing information with law enforcement “for the purpose of investigating or enforcing law that denies or interferes with a person’s right to choose or obtain reproductive health care services, or for purposes that permit the detention or investigation of a person based on the person’s immigration status.”
Earlier this month, Fox 32 reported that CPD officers submitted more than 23,000 Flock queries between May and July 2026 as part of the city’s memorandum of understanding with the company.
Use of ALPRs by law enforcement agencies has quickly grown in recent years, and the devices can be found across the state. The Illinois State Police, for example, uses more than 800 ALPRs.
But while the devices have become more ubiquitous, reports of officers improperly accessing the data have surfaced across the country, spurring some municipalities to halt their use.