ALPR Transparency Project
Who is watching the roads—and what happens to the data?
Automated License Plate Reader systems can capture vehicle information as motorists travel through public roadways. Increasingly interconnected networks allow government agencies to search and share vehicle-location information across jurisdictions.
The Ninth Spur is building a nationwide public record documenting how these systems are deployed, governed, retained, audited, and shared.
Help us find out.
FOIA vs. State Public Records Laws
The federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) generally applies to federal agencies. Requests made to state, county, municipal, sheriff, and local law-enforcement agencies are generally governed by the applicable state's public-records or open-records law.
This project helps participants identify the appropriate records law for their jurisdiction. Not every request is a “FOIA request.”
What Are ALPRs?
Automated License Plate Readers are camera systems—fixed or vehicle-mounted—that photograph passing vehicles and convert plate images into searchable text records.
Depending on configuration, an ALPR observation may capture:
- License plate
- Date
- Time
- Camera location
- Vehicle images
- Vehicle characteristics where supported by the system
A single camera observation is limited in scope. Individual observations can become significantly more revealing when records from multiple cameras, agencies, jurisdictions, or time periods are aggregated into a searchable history of a vehicle's movements.
The Ninth Spur does not assert that all ALPR use is unconstitutional. We are examining when aggregated governmental location surveillance may implicate protections under the Fourth Amendment.
Why This Project Exists
A single officer observing a vehicle traveling on a public road is one thing.
A searchable technological network capable of documenting vehicle movements across cities, counties, states, or extended periods presents a different constitutional and policy question.
The Ninth Spur believes Americans deserve transparency regarding:
- What information is collected
- How long information is retained
- Who can access it
- Which agencies can search it
- Whether information is shared across state lines
- Whether searches require a warrant
- How searches are audited
- Whether misuse is detected
- What safeguards exist to protect innocent citizens
The goal of this project is to replace speculation with documentation.
The Constitutional Question
The Ninth Spur is researching whether prolonged or aggregated governmental ALPR surveillance may implicate the Fourth Amendment. The following authorities inform that research and are offered for educational purposes:
- The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
- Carpenter v. United States — historical cell-site location records
- United States v. Jones — prolonged GPS monitoring of a vehicle
- Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle v. Baltimore Police Department — aerial surveillance program
Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle did not involve ALPR cameras. It is relevant to the broader constitutional question of technologically enabled government surveillance capable of reconstructing people's movements over time.
None of these cases has declared Flock Safety systems, or ALPR systems generally, unconstitutional. The questions remain open, fact-dependent, and jurisdiction-dependent.
How to Participate
Choose an Agency
City police department, county sheriff's office, state police, highway patrol, state bureau of investigation, transportation department, or any other government agency using ALPR technology.
Generate Your Records Request
Use the standardized request generator to produce a complete, jurisdiction-aware request letter.
Send It to the Agency
Submit the request directly to the appropriate government agency records custodian.
Save Everything
Preserve the original request, date submitted, agency acknowledgement, agency response, documents received, denial letters, fee estimates, and all correspondence.
Submit the Response to The Ninth Spur
Upload the records you received so they can be reviewed, cataloged, and added to the national record.
Research Methodology
The Ninth Spur collects and reviews:
- Government-produced records
- Public contracts
- Agency policies
- Government transparency reports
- Public-records responses
- Statutes
- Regulations
- Court records
- Official reports
Submissions are reviewed by The Ninth Spur before anything is added to the public database. Nothing is published automatically.
The project distinguishes carefully between:
- Documented fact
- Agency-reported information
- Vendor-reported information
- Legal analysis
- The Ninth Spur's advocacy position
That distinction is preserved in every published entry.
Congressional Oversight Initiative
Research collected through this project may support The Ninth Spur's efforts to encourage congressional examination of government-accessible ALPR networks. Issues under study include:
- Fourth Amendment protections
- Historical location searches
- Data-retention limits
- Interstate sharing
- Nationwide search capabilities
- Warrant requirements
- Audit requirements
- Misuse prevention
- Transparency
- Federal funding standards
The Ninth Spur intends to provide lawmakers with evidence—not speculation.
Constitutional Litigation Research
The Ninth Spur is separately evaluating constitutional litigation concerning governmental ALPR surveillance. See the Constitutional Litigation Initiative for that work.
- No submission to this project automatically makes the contributor a plaintiff, witness, or party to litigation.
- Participation is voluntary.
- Any potential litigation participation would require a separate process and separate consent.
Project Updates
Research updates, major records obtained, agency findings, new states added, legislative developments, court cases, congressional outreach, and transparency reports will be published here as the project develops.
Research Updates
Forthcoming. Materials will be published here as the initiative develops.
Major Records Obtained
Forthcoming. Materials will be published here as the initiative develops.
Agency Findings
Forthcoming. Materials will be published here as the initiative develops.
New States Added
Forthcoming. Materials will be published here as the initiative develops.
Legislative Developments
Forthcoming. Materials will be published here as the initiative develops.
Transparency Reports
Forthcoming. Materials will be published here as the initiative develops.
Related dispatches are published in The Watchtower.
Legal Disclaimer
- The ALPR Transparency Project is an educational, research, and advocacy initiative.
- Information provided through this project does not constitute legal advice.
- The Ninth Spur does not represent participants in public-records matters merely because they use this platform.
- Public-records laws and exemptions vary by jurisdiction.
- Participants should independently verify the laws applicable to their requests.
“We cannot debate surveillance we cannot see.”
Government technology should be transparent enough for citizens to understand how it operates and accountable enough for constitutional protections to remain meaningful. Help us build the record.