Chicago police are auditing officers' use of other agencies' license plate readers. The Council's last hearing on the data was in April

The Chicago Police Department is auditing whether its officers misused their access to license plate reader systems run by other law enforcement agencies, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Monday. WTTW first reported the misconduct probe on Oct. 23.

Why it matters: license plate readers are cameras that photograph passing cars and log where and when each plate was seen. Searches of that data can show where a resident has been. Who may search it, and for what, is a privacy question for every driver in the city.

What CPD is doing

The department has already limited access to outside agencies' plate reader systems to employees whose "position and job duties" require it, according to the Sun-Times. It did not say what prompted the audit or when it will be finished.

CPD also posted a draft directive, open for public comment through Nov. 12, the Sun-Times reported. Under the draft:

• each of the department's five bureaus would name someone to oversee plate reader use, including on other agencies' systems;
• logins could not be shared;
• every search would need a documented, legitimate law enforcement purpose;
• searches would be audited monthly;
• the Office of Public Safety Administration would process officers' requests for access to outside systems;
• penalties would range from losing search access to referral for prosecution.

The department told the Sun-Times the technology plays a "vital role" in homicide, shooting and missing-person cases. The Mayor's office declined to comment, the paper reported.

The audit comes as officers in several suburbs, including a former Joliet police lieutenant, face felony charges over alleged misuse of Flock plate reader cameras, according to the Sun-Times. Those are allegations; the cases are pending.

What our records add

The Council's last hearing on this was in April. On April 14, the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights, chaired by Ald. Andre Vasquez Jr. (40th), held a hearing sponsored by Ald. Matthew J. Martin (47th) on police technology, data sharing and the City's vendors. No votes were taken. From our meeting notes:

• Martin said residents had asked whether federal agencies can reach data the City collects, including license plate numbers, and said that to his knowledge the City does not contract with Flock but uses Vigilant Solutions (watch).
• Ald. Jessica Fuentes (26th) asked what the City was doing, after a Secretary of State report on Flock and Vigilant Solutions, to make sure City cameras were not sharing data unlawfully (watch).
• Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th) said residents in her ward had raised Flock cameras, and cited a reported case of plate data used to find a woman who had traveled for an abortion (watch).
• A City public safety technology official said the FBI and other federal agencies can request accounts on City camera systems through a CPD approval process, tied to specific purposes such as protecting federal buildings (watch). He said some of the City's access agreements with other agencies are more than 10 years old and would be reviewed (watch).
• The head of the Office of Public Safety Administration said all City vendors are bound by contract terms barring them from using or sharing City data without permission (watch).

That hearing was about the City's own cameras and federal access. This week's audit is about the reverse: Chicago officers searching other agencies' systems.

No ordinance has come to a vote. Our records of Council votes this term show no ordinance on license plate readers. In past budget hearings, several alderpersons have asked when readers and cameras they requested for their wards would be installed. At a November 2024 budget hearing on the Office of Public Safety Administration, one member said up to 15 camera and plate reader requests from his ward since 2020 had not been installed, according to our meeting notes.

What's next

• Nov. 12: public comment on CPD's draft directive closes, according to the Sun-Times.
• Wed., Oct. 28: the Police Department's budget hearing before the Council's budget committee (meeting page).
• Thu., Nov. 5: the Office of Public Safety Administration, which manages the City's camera networks, has its budget hearing.

For the City's separate plan to test gunshot detection, see our Oct. 23 story.

Sources: Chicago Politics: Gunshot detection pilot (Oct. 23).