Lansing (IL) Police Department Automated License Plate Readers

The Lansing Police Department uses automated license plate readers (“ALPR”).  ALPRs are high-speed cameras that scan their surroundings for vehicle license plates.  ALPR cameras can be fixed-location (e.g. mounted on poles) or vehicle-mounted. When an ALPR camera scans a license plate, it records an image of the plate called a “detection” or “plate scan.” The ALPR system’s software then uploads these images of license plates to a centralized database hosted and managed by a private ALPR database service provider. The detections in the database include the date, time, and location of the detection, as well as a photograph of the vehicle and its plate. Law enforcement agencies can enter license plate numbers into the database and the database will return a list of such all instances in which its ALPR cameras detected that plate. Law enforcement agencies can also elect to make their detections accessible to other law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement agencies can also create lists of wanted license plates (“hot lists”) in the database and the database will alert that agency of all future detections of that plate (“hits”) when they occur.  Even if a law enforcement agency does not operate its own ALPR cameras, it can still subscribe to a ALPR database service to conduct searches of detections or receive hits for vehicles of interest to their investigations. 

Vigilant Solutions is the most prolific provider of ALPR database access services for law enforcement.  Vigilant’s database of ALPR detections is called the National Vehicle Location Service (“NVLS”).  Vigilant’s law enforcement clients access this database via Vigilant’s software and online portal, called the Law Enforcement Archival Reporting Network (“LEARN”).  Vigilant, a subsidiary of Chicago-based Motorola Solutions, also produces and sells ALPR hardware.

In 2019, Lansing Police Department entered into a contract with Vigilant Solutions for the operation of ALPR cameras on Vigilant’s network and for access to Vigilant’s LEARN/NVLS database.[1]  In 2019, LPD paid Vigilant Solutions $221,525.80 for 16 fixed-location ALPR cameras, operation of those cameras on Vigilant’s network, and for access to Vigilant’s LEARN/NVLS database.[2]  Because Lansing’s ALPR program begin in late 2019, there is no detection or hit data available for 2019.[3]  LPD shares and receives detection data and hot lists with numerous other law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”).[4]  As of September 2019, LPD did not have an official ALPR policy.[5]

[1] Lansing-Vigilant Solutions Enterprise Service Agreement, available at: https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20434656-lansing-il-police-vigilant-solutions-alpr-enterprise-service-agreement-2019

[2] Lansing Brite Computers Invoices for Vigilant Solutions, available at: https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20434657-lansing-il-police-alpr-invoices-2019

[3] Lansing Hit Ratio Report Response Email, available at: https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20434658-lansing-il-police-alpr-hit-ratio-2019-response

[4] Lansing LEARN Agency Data Sharing Report 2020, available at: https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20434655-lansing-il-police-alpr-agency-sharing-2020

[5] Lansing ALPR Policy Response Email, available at: https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20434654-lansing-il-police-alpr-policy-response