(TNS) — Almost two months after the incident. san francisco chronicle Two civil rights groups are urging the Sacramento Police Department to stop this practice after it was revealed that it was sharing Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) data with out-of-state law enforcement agencies. I wrote a letter asking for it.
Electronic Frontier Foundation Staff Attorney Jennifer Pinsoff and ACLU of Northern California Staff Attorney Nick Hidalgo sent a letter to Sacramento Police Chief Katherine Lester and City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood urging them to share ALPR data. He appealed to people not to just stop doing it. State law enforcement agencies could use cameras to prosecute people seeking abortions or gender-affirming health care, but they could also waive the use of such cameras altogether.
“The risks to civil liberties and civil rights that ALPR technology creates are well-documented. Even if the Sacramento Police Department takes steps to prevent formal data sharing with out-of-state agencies, these same agencies and the risk of informal sharing remains,” the letter reads in part.
The letter gives Lester and Alcala-Wood until May 30th to respond. Neither Mr. Lester nor Mr. Alcala-Wood responded. beeComments are requested by the deadline.
The Sacramento Police Department isn't the only law enforcement agency in California sharing that data. As previously documented here, many agencies across the state do so, including the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.
Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper, who voted in favor of a law banning external sharing when he was a member of Congress, defended his department's practices, saying the EFF was “a top priority for child molesters and fentanyl traffickers.” , and protecting rapists and murderers.''
California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a legal memo to state law enforcement agencies last year warning that it is illegal to share ALPR data with out-of-state agencies.
by chronicleThe memo was not intended to persuade the Sacramento Police Department to change its policy, according to a report.
Jane Fonda's One Day Trilogy concludes
We bring you the final (hopefully!) update on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors' decision to declare April 30th Jane Fonda Day.
Remember, the board voted to honor Fonda on April 30, the anniversary of the fall of Saigon, marking the end of the Vietnam War, but Fonda staged a rather infamous protest.
The decision infuriated many state legislators, including Sen. Janet Nguyen (R-Huntington Beach), whose district includes Little Saigon, which has the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam. Rep. Tri Ta (R-Westminster) rallied 17 other members, including one Democrat (Rep. Stephanie Nguyen, D-Elk Grove), to ask the board to rescind the vote. Ta.
On Friday, Ta announced that the campaign was a success. The board announced that it would introduce a motion at its next meeting to change Jane Fonda Day to another, less infamous day.
“I want to thank everyone who worked with me to fight this decision. I also want to commend the Board of Supervisors for listening to the concerns raised by the Vietnamese American community and Vietnam War veterans. ” Ta said in a statement.
quote of the day
“So we want a leaner government, a leaner government, a streamlined government. We want to do what we do, and we believe we can do it and still achieve great results.”
– California Governor Gavin Newsom announced at his May revised budget press conference that the state will eliminate 10,000 vacant state employee positions.
Best of the Bee (revised May edition):
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