ALPR Cameras

Deflock.org - "Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs or LPRs) are AI-powered cameras that capture and analyze images of all passing vehicles, storing details like your car's location, date, and time. They also capture your car's make, model, color, and identifying features such as dents, roof racks, and bumper stickers, often turning these into searchable data points.

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These cameras collect data on millions of vehicles regardless of whether the driver is suspected of a crime. These systems are marketed as indispensable tools to fight crime, but they ignore the powerful tools police already have to track criminals, such as cell phone location data, creating a loophole that doesn't require a warrant."

Potential Risks of ALPRs

​I think the most impactful thing we can do is make Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) and other surveillance cameras banned in the city (including businesses using ALPRs and police departments using drones). This is something neither side likes and every city should make this an election issue before it is too late.


​The potential risks listed below show that trading privacy and safety for a tiny increase in arrests is not worth it. 

  • Potential for abuse by the government: You might be okay with them knowing where you are now but what about when the party in control of the government changes? Are you still okay with mass government surveillance? It has already been reported that government agencies have used ALPR data to track protestors.


  • Potential for abuse by the government employees: There are numerous reports of police officers and other employees with access abusing the system for their own nefarious purposes.


  • Potential for abuse by the private companies providing the service: We already know that data is money and that companies sell it whenever they can. For example, who is to say they don’t sell the data to marketing companies, facial recognition software companies, or generative AI companies?


  • Potential for data to be compromised: If the service is connected to the internet, then the data is vulnerable and can be hacked. We already know that companies do not handle hacked data well: they allow it to happen, delay in informing customers affected, and do not fairly compensate.


  • Inaccurate results lead to illegal arrests: A Roseville Police Department analysis of 1,427 felony/stolen vehicle alerts from 2023–2024 revealed that 71% of the generated alerts involved incorrect license plate reads by the system.


  • Expensive costs: Original purchase price, software license, vandalism repair and upkeep costs, lawsuits for wrongful arrests, etc.


  • Future expansion: What happens when they add more cameras and drones (some departments already have some)? What about when they add audio recording capability? Or what about contracting similar systems through private companies that own land? For example, Home Depot has Flock cameras in their parking lots.

Holding Chico PD Accountable

Chico Sol reported "Some 20 federal agencies and more than 80 out-of-state law enforcement agencies had access to Chico’s ALPR data, a ChicoSol investigation has found. Agencies that were able to access Chico’s data as recently as July 7 include ICE Enforcement and Removal and Homeland Security Investigations. Civil rights attorneys say that this type of out-of-state data sharing violates SB 34 and in some cases may violate SB 54, the California Values Act."

As a response, local resistance groups are conducting a police complaint drive. We are asking locals to file a complaint against Chico PD and Chief Billy Aldridge for violating California state bills (over 200 complaints have been turned in so far). You can turn in the forms to one of the groups or deliver it yourself to 1460 Humboldt Rd in Chico.

AI Cameras in Chico Unified Schools

Chico Unified Board Member Speaks about New Cameras Being Installed at CUSD Campuses - "In December of 2025, the CUSD board approved replacing the district's 12-year-old camera system on its consent calendar, where items are typically approved without debate. The decision involved not just the $1.9 million dollar price tag, but a complete shift from old CCTV cameras to AI-powered ones."