Automated License Plate Reader FAQs

ALPR cameras will be strategically placed at the limited routes of ingress and egress of
Foster City to monitor vehicles entering and leaving the City. The following are the
proposed locations:
East Third Avenue at Mariners Island Boulevard
SR-92 entrance/exit at Metro Center Boulevard
SR-92 entrance/exit at Chess Drive
Metro Center Boulevard at Gateway Drive
Edgewater Boulevard at Gateway Drive
Edgewater Boulevard at East Hillsdale Boulevard
Eastbound and Westbound lanes of East Hillsdale Boulevard near Twin Bridges

ALPR technology allows for the automated detection of license plates. It will be used by the Foster City Police Department to convert data associated with vehicle license plates for official law enforcement purposes, including identifying stolen or wanted vehicles, stolen license plates and missing persons. It may also be used for active and specific investigations.

It is a combination of both the camera and their cloud server. All data on the camera, during the transfer to the cloud, and cloud servers are encrypted.

Yes. Flock Safety will store the data and ensure proper maintenance and security of data stored in their data towers. They will purge the data at the end of the 30 days of storage.

No. Officers will only receive information relating to the vehicle, there will be no personal information associated.

Flock ALPR cameras will automatically scan the license plates of vehicles traveling within 75 feet of the camera.

The ALPR system does not have the capability to track vehicles. The system can only indicate when a license plate was scanned at one of the seven locations monitoring the ingress and egress points of the City.

Flock ALPR cameras can identify the license plate, vehicle make, type, and color. It can not detect the model of the vehicle. The cameras can not identify unique colors or paint types (i.e. if your paint color is powder blue or sky blue, the system will only register it as “blue”).

Typically two per camera.

Flock ALPR cameras can detect and read the license plate of a vehicle traveling up to 75 MPH day or night. 

The cost is $50,000 per year ($2,500 per camera), with an additional $5,000 in the first year to install the equipment.

At any time during the agreed upon term, a customer not fully satisfied with the service or solution may self-elect to terminate their contract. Self-elected termination will result in a one-time fee of up to $500 per camera to cover equipment removal costs. Upon self-elected termination, a refund will be provided, pro-rated for any fees paid for the remaining Term length set forth previously. Self-termination of the contract by the customer will be effective immediately. Flock will remove all equipment at own convenience upon termination. Advance notice will be provided.

Yes. It can also capture out of state and special interest license plates.

No. The ALPR cameras and equipment are owned by Flock Safety, we are leasing the equipment from them.

There are currently no ALPR cameras in Foster City, therefore Flock would be installing new cameras and equipment. If Flock develops upgraded equipment or cameras, they will replace the old ones with new ones at no cost to us.

No.

Yes. Flock cameras use infrared technology which allows them to detect and identify license plates in complete darkness.

All ALPR data downloaded will not be stored or retained by the Foster City Police Department or any vendor beyond 30 days, nor will it be warehoused or co-mingled with any private company data. Thereafter, ALPR data should be purged unless it has become, or it is reasonable to believe it will become, evidence in a criminal or civil action or is subject to a discovery request or other lawful action to produce records. In those circumstances the applicable data should be downloaded from the server onto portable media and booked into evidence.

Information gathered or collected, and records retained by Flock Safety cameras or any other Foster City Police Department ALPR system will not be sold, accessed, or used for any purpose other than legitimate law enforcement or public safety purposes.

The ALPR data may be shared only with other law enforcement or prosecutorial agencies for official law enforcement purposes or as otherwise permitted by law, using the following procedures:

(a) The agency makes a written request for the ALPR data that includes:
The name of the agency.
The name of the person requesting.
The intended purpose of obtaining the information.
(b) The request is reviewed by the Administrative Services Captain or the authorized designee and approved before the request is fulfilled.

(c) The approved request is retained on file.

(d) The Chief of Police or the authorized designee will consider the California Values Act (Government Code § 7282.5; Government Code § 7284.2 et seq), before approving the release of ALPR data. The Foster City Police Department does not permit the sharing of ALPR data gathered by the City or its contractors/subcontractors for purpose of federal immigration enforcement, these federal immigration agencies include Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CPB).

(e) The approved request is retained on file.

Requests for ALPR data by non-law enforcement or non-prosecutorial agencies will be processed as provided in the Records Maintenance and Release Policy (Civil Code § 1798.90.55).

No.

There is no real time “live” footage available on these cameras.

Yes, they will be able to log into the Flock portal in order to access them, but they can only search for past images in connection to an active investigation. There is no live video feed from the cameras.

Members of the Department approved to access ALPR data are permitted to access the data for legitimate law enforcement purposes only, such as when the data relates to a specific active investigation.

No, the system is only capable of capturing still images, not video.

The Flock ALPR system provides a confidence level of each data point (characters on a license plate, make of a vehicle, type, and color). If there is low confidence of a match, it will indicate so.

If an officer conducts a search with the full license plate number, it will not identify close matches. If a partial license plate is entered it will locate plates containing those characters.

Authorized members of the Foster City Police Department who have completed the required training and are accessing it for an official and legitimate law enforcement purpose.

The following uses of the ALPR system are specifically prohibited:

a) Invasion of Privacy: Except when done pursuant to a court order such as a search warrant, is a violation of this Policy to utilize the ALPR to record license plates except those of vehicles that are exposed to public view (e.g., vehicles on a public road or street, or that are on private property but whose license plate(s )are visible from a public road, street, or a place to which members of the public have access,
such as the parking lot of a shop or other business establishment).

b) Harassment or Intimidation: It is a violation of this Policy to use the ALPR system to harass and/or intimidate any individual or group.

c) Use Based on a Protected Characteristic. It is a violation of this policy to use the LPR system or associated scan files or hot lists solely because of a person's, or group's race, gender, religion, political affiliation, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, or other classification protected by law.

d) Personal Use: It is a violation of this Policy to use the ALPR system or associated scan files or hot lists for any personal purpose.

e) First Amendment Rights. It is a violation of this policy to use the LPR system or associated scan files or hot lists for the purpose or known effect of infringing upon First Amendment rights.

Anyone who engages in an impermissible use of the ALPR system or associated scan files or hot lists may be subject to:
​​​​​Criminal prosecution,
Civil liability, and/or
Administrative sanctions, up to and including termination, pursuant to and consistent with the relevant collective bargaining agreements and Department policies.

Flock Safety will store the data and ensure proper maintenance and security of data stored in their data towers. Flock Safety will purge their data at the end of the 30 days of storage. However, this will not preclude Foster City Police Department from maintaining any relevant vehicle data obtained from the system after that period pursuant to the established City of Foster City retention schedule mentioned above or outlined elsewhere. Restrictions on use of ALPR Data: Information gathered or collected, and records retained by Flock Safety cameras or any other Foster City Police Department ALPR system will not be sold, accessed, or used for any purpose other than legitimate law enforcement or public safety purposes.

All ALPR data downloaded will not be stored or retained by the Foster City Police Department or any vendor beyond 30 days, nor will it be warehoused or co-mingled with any private company data. Thereafter, ALPR data should be purged unless it has become, or it is reasonable to believe it will become, evidence in a criminal or civil action or is subject to a discovery request or other lawful action to produce records. In those circumstances the applicable data should be downloaded from the server onto portable media and booked into evidence.

It is the responsibility of the Administrative Captain or the Chief’s designee to ensure that an audit is conducted of ALPR detection browsing inquiries at least once during each calendar year.

No.

We will release records in accordance with applicable laws.

No, FCPD will not opt in to the TALON network. TALON is an Opt-In network so it's not automatically turned on.  Agencies can opt-in at either the State (i.e. all other California agencies are also bound by the same state laws, SB34, SB54, etc.) or National level.  Also, TALON does not allow for the same level of search and sharing that is provided with Agency-to-Agency sharing.