A Message from the Roseville Police Department
The Roseville Police Department recognizes the growing national conversation around Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs). As members of the Roseville community, we want to clearly explain how we use ALPR technology—and the strong safeguards we have in place to protect privacy, constitutional rights, and public trust.
ALPR systems assist the Roseville Police Department in two primary ways:
Important: ALPR alerts are never used as the sole justification for a traffic stop or investigation. Officers must establish independent reasonable suspicion or probable cause before taking any enforcement action.
- Searches: The Search feature is the most common use of ALPR and aids officers in locating vehicles related to crimes.
- Alerts: Alerts are generated when ALPR cameras capture an image of a license plate. Machine learning reads the plate and checks it against a “hotlist” of plates associated with stolen vehicles, felony warrants, or other serious crimes. If the system detects a possible match, it generates an alert. This triggers a required multi-step human verification process performed by trained personnel.
Important: ALPR alerts are never used as the sole justification for a traffic stop or investigation. Officers must establish independent reasonable suspicion or probable cause before taking any enforcement action.
- Roseville ALPR cameras do not continuously follow vehicles; they capture point-in-time images of the rear of vehicles.
- ALPR cameras are not directed at playgrounds, parks, or public gathering spaces.
- ALPR locations are strategically selected, and cameras are positioned to capture only vehicle traffic and the rear of passing vehicles.
- ALPR does not perform facial recognition.
- ALPR cameras are not used as listening devices.
Out of 1,427 alerts involving stolen or felony vehicles:
As with any technology, ALPR is not perfect. While a 71% misread rate may be concerning, this applies only to automated Alerts—not manual Searches. Our robust multi-step verification process ensured no enforcement action occurred based on misreads. We continue working closely with our vendor to improve system accuracy. Your police department takes pride in the high level of service we strive to provide our community each day, and this includes the technology we use to fulfill that mission through ongoing coordination with our vendor.
This data reflects Roseville Police Department usage only and demonstrates our commitment to transparency and responsible evaluation of ALPR technology.
- 1,011 alerts (71%) were misreads
- 416 alerts (29%) were correct matches
- 0 misreads resulted in a stop or arrest
As with any technology, ALPR is not perfect. While a 71% misread rate may be concerning, this applies only to automated Alerts—not manual Searches. Our robust multi-step verification process ensured no enforcement action occurred based on misreads. We continue working closely with our vendor to improve system accuracy. Your police department takes pride in the high level of service we strive to provide our community each day, and this includes the technology we use to fulfill that mission through ongoing coordination with our vendor.
This data reflects Roseville Police Department usage only and demonstrates our commitment to transparency and responsible evaluation of ALPR technology.
The security and privacy of ALPR data are extremely important to the Roseville Police Department.
Our data safeguards include:
Our data safeguards include:
- Encrypted storage in AWS GovCloud, accessible only to authorized Roseville Police Department personnel
- A strict 60-day data retention policy where data is automatically and permanently deleted
- ALPR data sharing limited only to law enforcement agencies within 200 miles and agencies on a case-by-case basis following an administrative review as outlined in our policy (ALPR Policy 425)
- Required sharing agreements for any agency requesting access
- ALPR data is never shared with federal agencies
- Professional Standards Unit (commonly known as Internal Affairs) audits conducted every 60 days to ensure full compliance with ALPR usage rules and policy guidelines
When an officer receives an ALPR alert, the following steps are required before any enforcement decision is made:
If the vehicle is not a match, or the originating agency advises the vehicle is no longer wanted, officers will not initiate a stop. Any enforcement action must be based on independent observations unrelated to the alert.
- Dispatch receives the alert and reviews the captured plate image to determine whether it matches the hotlist plate.
- Dispatch contacts the originating agency to confirm the plate is still wanted.
- If the plate appears to match, officers search the area where the vehicle was last seen.
- Officers must visually confirm the physical license plate matches the hotlist plate.
- The officer verbally verifies the plate number with dispatch.
- Only when the Roseville Police Department confirms there is still an active criminal violation associated with the vehicle may officers conduct an enforcement stop.
If the vehicle is not a match, or the originating agency advises the vehicle is no longer wanted, officers will not initiate a stop. Any enforcement action must be based on independent observations unrelated to the alert.
The Roseville Police Department recognizes the paramount importance of protecting the privacy rights of our citizens by practicing the ethical use of ALPR technology for official law enforcement purposes.
We follow a strict policy and training-driven process to ensure our investigative efforts comply with the constitutional rights of our citizens. We maintain safeguards to ensure responsible, lawful, and ethical use of ALPR technology:
We follow a strict policy and training-driven process to ensure our investigative efforts comply with the constitutional rights of our citizens. We maintain safeguards to ensure responsible, lawful, and ethical use of ALPR technology:
- Quarterly reviews by a dedicated ALPR Administrative Team
- Mandatory policy and training requirements for all users
- Documentation required for every ALPR search (case number + purpose)
- Authorization for manually entering hot plates limited to Supervisors, Real Time Crime Center personnel, and Detectives
- Hot plates manually entered into the Roseville Police Department ALPR database by authorized personnel expire at 30 days (ALPR Policy 425)
- Detailed procedures and oversight for all entries
- Professional Standards Unit (commonly known as Internal Affairs) audits every 60 days covering user accounts, searches, and hot plate entries to ensure Roseville Police personnel using the system are following existing state law and department policies, procedures, and training for the ethical use of ALPR technology.
- Responsible, limited data-sharing protocols
- 60-day automatic and permanent deletion of all ALPR data so it is no longer accessible for searches.
- Camera placement guidelines designed, to the extent possible, to capture only the rear of vehicles
- Ongoing collaboration with our ALPR vendor to address issues and improve performance
- Program documentation supporting transparency and evidence-based review
ALPR technology has helped our officers investigate and solve a wide range of cases.
Since implementation, ALPR has assisted Roseville PD in locating suspects in investigations including:
In one case involving a confirmed felony vehicle alert, after completing the multi-step human verification process, officers-initiated contact outside a business where the subject had just stolen merchandise. This contact resolved not only the felony that triggered the ALPR alert, but also a fresh theft that had just occurred at a Roseville business.
Both the Search and Alert features provide important investigative tools that help protect community safety while maintaining strict privacy protections.
Since implementation, ALPR has assisted Roseville PD in locating suspects in investigations including:
- Attempted homicides
- Stalking
- Armed robberies
- Residential burglaries
- Petty thefts & Grand thefts
- Stolen vehicles
In one case involving a confirmed felony vehicle alert, after completing the multi-step human verification process, officers-initiated contact outside a business where the subject had just stolen merchandise. This contact resolved not only the felony that triggered the ALPR alert, but also a fresh theft that had just occurred at a Roseville business.
Both the Search and Alert features provide important investigative tools that help protect community safety while maintaining strict privacy protections.
Roseville Police Department is currently sharing our data with 37 agencies. The 37 includes 3 state agencies; these were reviewed by the ALPR administrative team.
- Rocklin PD
- West Sac PD
- Yolo County SO
- Auburn PD
- Hercules PD
- Placer County SO
- Richmond PD
- Hillsborough PD
- Solano County SO
- Citrus Heights PD
- CalFire
- CHP
- CA State Parks
- Foster City PD
- Galt PD
- San Mateo PD
- Stockton PD
- Dixon PD
- Piedmont PD
- Nevada County SO
- Elk Grove PD
- Palo Alto PD
- Benicia PD
- Central Marin PD
- Lakeport PD
- Marin County SO
- Monterey County SO
- Oroville PD
- Placer County DA
- Pleasant Hill PD
- Pleasanton PD
- Rohnert Park DPS
- Sacramento County SO
- San Francisco PD
- San Mateo SO
- Turlock PD
- Vallejo PD
View the Automated License Plate Readers Policy to learn more.
Our Commitment
The Roseville Police Department remains committed to:- Ethical and responsible technology use
- Transparency and accountability
- Protecting the privacy and constitutional rights of our residents
- Ensuring the safety of everyone in our community