![]() That could spell legal peril for the doctors, nurses and others who work in these clinics, as well as for out-of-state people who seek care and provide transportation. Wade world, the information collected could be used by police and/or prosecutors in anti-abortion jurisdictions in Texas to monitor California abortion clinics, and the vehicles near them, EFF and ACLU maintain. ![]() “That said - Attorney General Bonta remains committed to safeguarding the digital privacy of individuals seeking reproductive care, and protect sensitive health data from being misused to target them.” Crime? “Beyond that, to protect its integrity, we’re unable to comment on, even to confirm or deny, a potential or ongoing investigation. “We have received the letter and are analyzing it,” said a spokesperson for Attorney General Rob Bonta by email. ![]() (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG) The EFF and ACLU say that sharing this information with agencies beyond California’s borders is illegal, and give the cities and counties a June 15 deadline for “prompt action and response.” A license plate reader installed along Katella Avenue in Los Alamitos in 2022. In Northern California, there are eight in Contra Costa County (Antioch, Brentwood, Hercules, Oakley, Pittsburg, San Pablo, San Ramon and Walnut Creek), two in Marin County (Novato and San Rafael) and one in Santa Clara County (Gilroy). There are seven in Riverside County: Beaumont, Desert Hot Springs, Hemet, Menifee, Murrieta, Palm Springs and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.Īnd there are five in San Bernardino County: Chino, Fontana, Ontario, San Bernardino Police Department and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Much larger Los Angeles County has 11 police agencies on the list: Alhambra, Arcadia, Burbank, Downey, Hermosa Beach, Montebello, Monterey Park, Palos Verdes Estates, Pasadena, Torrance and West Covina. In addition to OCSD, there are the police departments in Buena Park, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, La Habra, La Palma, Laguna Beach, Orange, Seal Beach, Tustin and Westminster. Orange County has the distinction of having the most police agencies receiving the demand letter, at 12. We suspect most folks aren’t aware that so many cities collect license plate data. The civil liberties organizations aren’t the only ones concerned about this technology. Much of this information has traditionally been unavailable to law enforcement without a search warrant.” “ALPR systems collect and store location information about drivers whose cars pass through ALPR cameras’ fields of view, which, along with the date and time of capture, can be built into a database that reveals sensitive details about where individuals work, live, associate, worship, seek medical care, and travel. “ALPR (automated license plate reader) technology is a powerful surveillance system that can be used to invade the privacy of individuals and violate the rights of entire communities,” the demand letters read. California’s Attorney General has been copied on those letters as well. Turns out OCSD - and 70 other police agencies across 22 California counties - have received demand letters from the Electronic Frontier Foundation and American Civil Liberties Union, urging them to stop sharing this data with states that restrict or outlaw abortion. The readers capture vehicle license plate information and filter it through law enforcement data sources to see if the vehicle is a stolen or a wanted vehicle. The Los Alamitos City Council approved a one-year pilot program to lease 12 Automated License Plate Readers from Flock Safety. So, who’s at risk if the Orange County Sheriff’s Department has shared data it collects from automated license plate readers with police agencies in Texas towns like Giddings, El Paso, Gulfport, Liberty County, Nacogdoches County and Wise County? Could that California-collected data be used to track down and prosecute folks who help Texas women get care that’s legal here, but outlawed there? A license plate reader installed along Cerritos Avenue in Los Alamitos in 2022. Anyone who helps a woman get one can be criminally liable under Lone Star State law.
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