SALT LAKE CITY – As Utahns speak out, candidates for the Salt Lake County Council said they want to see guardrails on automated license plate readers (ALPRs) and other surveillance systems.
Salt Lake County, along with several others in the state, has seen pushback over the use of ALPRs.
The county has over 400 ALPRs, according to DeFlock, an ALPR-tracking website.
Both residents and the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah have asked for better regulations, citing privacy concerns and cases of misuse by police officers around the country.
Candidates for Salt Lake County Council’s at-large seat have weighed in over the past few weeks.
What does the Democratic candidate think of ALPRs?
Democrat Zach Robinson told Utah Junction he’s heard residents’ concerns along the campaign trail.
“Folks are concerned with who can access the data, how long the data is stored, and what happens if somebody does circumvent the process to illegally access the data,” Robinson said.
Robinson said he’s not outright opposed to ALPRs, but said they need more regulation.
“This technology specifically, there’s too much room for error, and I’m just not comfortable with that.”
Robinson had a list of questions he wanted answered before he’d consider the use of the technology appropriate.
“How is the data managed? How is the data being secured? Who can access this data? Who can access information?” Robinson said.
He’d also like to see legislation that holds people accountable for misusing ALPR data.
Robinson noted that the regulation he hopes to see is up to state and federal legislators, and county council involvement would be “muddy at best.” But, he said he can still be an advocate for change.
“Where I think we can be influential is using our voice as the most populous county in the state and using our communication tools as a body to send messages to urge our legislative colleagues at the state and federal level to get involved,” Robinson said.
State lawmakers are considering several bills for the 2027 legislative session, including requiring warrants to access ALPR data and limiting the amount of time data is available.
What does the Republican candidate think of ALPRs?
Republican Kathleen Anderson also wants guardrails around the use of ALPRs.
“I support limited, accountable use by law enforcement for active criminal investigations, stolen vehicles, and missing persons, consistent with Utah law,” Anderson wrote in an email to Utah Junction.
Anderson said, however, that collection of location and vehicle data without a warrant raised Fourth Amendment concerns.
Additionally, Anderson said she does not support ALPR use by non-law-enforcement entities like HOAs or businesses without “strong guardrails.”
Anderson also raised concern that the county had inconsistent privacy protections for its residents.
She cited the county sheriff’s office practice of removing identifying information like physical descriptors, city of residence, and country of origin from the county’s inmate lookup tool.
“When basic descriptors are stripped from public booking information while detailed movement data on ordinary drivers is retained and searchable, the privacy standard is being applied more strictly to people who have already been booked than to the general public,” Anderson said.
ALPR data is only searchable by law enforcement agencies, while the inmate lookup tool Anderson cited is searchable by the public.
