Honorable City Councilmembers,
I have read the staff report for this item, and I commend City staff and Chief Norris for the inclusion of much-needed ‘guardrails’ around the deployment of Flock’s ALPR surveillance technology into our community.
These policies address several of the privacy concerns I raised in my letter to Council on September 26, 2023.
I remain deeply concerned about our participation in a national surveillance database, especially given the lack of verifiable data regarding the public safety benefits of ALPR systems. The data that has been made available to date focuses on statistics about ‘crime rates’ in municipalities that could be attributed to any number of factors, including overall downward trends.
I look forward to the department’s reports to this City Council, and I hope these will include a clear accounting of the actual costs and benefits.
I ask that Council review the effectiveness of this program after the first year, before authorizing further funds from our city budget.
Regards,
Katherine Dumont
Menlo Park resident
