The Chicago Police Department is conducting an audit to determine whether cops abused their access to other law enforcement agencies’ license plate reader systems.
The audit comes with a slew of immediate and proposed policy changes to the way Chicago police officers are allowed to access license plate reader data.
The department said it has immediately reduced access to the outside license plate reader systems to only those whose “position and job duties” require access.
Each of the department’s five bureaus also will be required to designate someone to oversee the use of license plate reader systems, not only those owned by the department but also those owned by outside agencies.
Among the proposed changes, the department said it will make login information for the system non-transferable — meaning only one department member can use their log-in credentials — and require that a "legitimate law enforcement purpose” be documented for every query.
Additionally, monthly audits of searches would be conducted and the Office of Public Safety Administration would be tasked with processing requests by officers for access to outside license plate reader systems.
The proposal also outlines potential penalties for violations of the department’s directive, which range from suspension from use of the license plate reader search systems to referral for prosecution.
The department didn’t respond to questions about what initiated the audit or when the subsequent audits would be completed, but said in an earlier statement that the technology plays a “vital role” in homicide, shooting and missing persons cases.
Mayor Brandon Johnson's office declined to comment due to the ongoing nature of the audit.
A draft of the department’s new policy regarding license plate reader use is open for public comment through Nov. 12. The department said it will “review the additional feedback received to guide future revisions to the draft” before finalizing the directives.
CPD is the latest local law enforcement agency to announce internal inquiries into possible abuses of license plate reader technology amid public outcry against surveillance technology company Flock Safety.
Earlier this month, a former Joliet police lieutenant was hit with felony charges for alleged misuse of Flock technology. It is the third known case this year of a Will County law enforcement officer being accused of misusing the database that tracks millions of drivers’ real-time locations.
Officers from Itasca, West Chicago, Prairie Grove and Kenosha County, Wisconsin, have all been hit with felony charges following their alleged misuse of the cameras and databases. The Will County sheriff’s office and Channahon Police Department have also suspended officers pending investigations into the searches.
On Nov. 12, the Will County Board is set to consider an ordinance to ban automated license plate reader cameras on county property. That's the same day public comment closes for the updated CPD directive.
