Ypsilanti Township considers installing license plate reading cameras for community safety

Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry L. Clayton wants to install 60 cameras across Ypsilanti Township to increase safety, but the plan is being met with resistance from the community, with many people citing privacy concerns and the potential for misuse.

The license plate readers (LDRs), which are stationary cameras that take still photographs of the rear side of vehicles, would be used to further the investigations of serious crimes, including armed robbery and homicide, Clayton said in an April 13 community education session on Facebook Live.

Clayton added that the data will be shared only with  other law enforcement agencies, including ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), with a formal written request for purposes that are determined significant.

"We're not sharing the data with immigration services unless they bring us very clear evidence that an individual that they're looking for poses a significant public safety threat to our community," Clayton said.

Keith Flores stated in the session that LDRs are used in many other areas in the state, including Jackson and Kalamazoo, as well as cities nationwide.

Ypsilanti Township residents are hesitant as the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office contemplates the use of $60,000 worth of license plate readers across the township.

"Our problem we're trying to solve in partnership with everybody else is community safety, and wellbeing is being challenged on a variety of levels, but both nationally and locally we are concerned about the increase in violent crime," said Clayton during the Facebook Live.

The Sheriff's Office has since met with Neighborhood Watch groups to discuss the license plate recognition system and answer questions.

Many Ypsilanti Township community members have the misconception that the cameras are able to identify individuals and will be used as surveillance, but that is not the case, according to the sheriff's department.

The cameras gather information by utilizing the FBI's National Crime Information Center of federal and state "hot lists," a system that lists license plate numbers of vehicles belonging to suspects in high-level crimes. The program would send real-time alerts to law enforcement agencies when a wanted or stolen vehicle is detected, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The system does take photographs of every vehicle that passes but only notifies the department of "hot list" vehicles, that may be involved in serious crimes. The pictures stay in the system for 30 days, then are automatically deleted.

"We believe that adding stationary cameras has provided significant assistance in apprehending suspects of serious crime," Clayton said.

During the education session, the sheriff acknowledged that community-based services, such as mental health help and affordable housing initiatives, are important long-term investments. However, he said, immediacy is just as crucial, and the readers allow a more-thorough investigation that can provide a shorter-term solution to reducing crime. 

The devices will not be mobile or mounted in patrol vehicles but will be placed throughout the township, at every incoming and outgoing intersection where people enter and exit the city.

The most recent Ypsilanti township update memo includes maps of where the readers would  be located if the plan comes to fruition.

Residents are also worried about data being shared with outside agencies, but the Sheriff's Office urges people not to worry.

"Information gathered by the LPR system will not be used outside Ypsi township or for other reasons besides by policing," said Flores said during the Facebook Live. "The data will only be shared with other law enforcement agencies and it will never be sold."

Although data will be stored by the vendor, the vendor is not able to use the data in any way as all of it contractually belongs to the Sheriff's Office.

More: Company ordered to stop selling health insurance in Michigan

More: Former Michigan governor gets a new job

Officials are considering partnering with Flock Safety to obtain the camera package, and detailed information and conditions with the company are outlined in the June 15 memo.

The Sheriff's Office also added that if the cameras are installed, quarterly reports including metrics would  be made public to display the use and results.

Community engagement about the plan is ongoing, and people can fill out an input survey online to provide feedback about the consideration.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ypsilanti Township plan for license plate readers faces criticism