The Chambersburg Police Department (CPD) prides itself on transparency and maintaining public trust. In light of recent public discourse regarding Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology, we want to provide the community with clear answers about how we use this tool, how it works, and the safeguards in place to prevent misuse. 

With Borough Council approval, CPD first deployed ALPRs in 2016 through Motorola Solutions. Motorola has remained our sole vendor. We currently operate fixed ALPRs at three locations and plan to add two more locations in the coming months. We also utilize six mobile ALPRs deployed across our patrol fleet. 

Our ALPRs simply take moment-in-time photos of passing vehicles and their license plates, recording the date, time, and a basic vehicle description. 

· They do not record live-stream video. 

· They do not identify vehicle occupants or items inside vehicles 

· They do not utilize biometrics or facial recognition. 

Because a significant number of crimes involve a vehicle, ALPRs are transformative for community safety. They help officers locate wanted individuals, generate investigative leads, find missing or endangered persons, and recover stolen vehicles. 

CPD utilizes the ALPR system for nearly every major investigation if there is information to support the use in conjunction with verifiable information to show that a vehicle passed through a fixed location or if a mobile LPR system would have obtained a hit/capture of the suspect registration. These include homicides, death investigations, shootings, MV thefts, missing persons, etc.

CPD has utilized the ALPR system in more than 500 criminal investigations since its inception in 2016. 

Public safety and civil liberties go hand in hand. CPD operates under strict policies to prevent misuse and ensure accountability: 

· Verification Required: An ALPR hit alone is not probable cause for arrest or enforcement action.  Officers must independently verify the authenticity of an ALPR hit through law enforcement databases before taking action.

· Justified Access: System inquiries are tracked and limited to legitimate law enforcement purposes. Officers must input an associated report number and a clear description of the reason for their search to query the system.  Any misuse would result in departmental discipline and possible criminal violations. 

· Auditing: An assigned supervisor conducts monthly audits of the system to monitor for misuse. 

As a Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission (PLEAC) accredited agency, CPD abides by rigorous accreditation standards regarding ALPR use. 

Our complete ALPR policy for the department is available to the public in the "About Us" section.