EL SEGUNDO HERALD April 11, 2019 Page 11
License Plate Readers from front page
wanted people, missing persons, stolen and
felony cars and so forth. If the database gets
a hit, the info goes to the officers in the field
in real time.”
The speed of that technology is a primary
reason for implementation. “I typically
run about nine license plates manually on
a given shift,” Garcia said. “They can do thousands.
The biggest benefit is crime investigation.
If we know a crime happened between 2 and
3 a.m., we know they aren’t coming in from
the beach. It’s usually entering from Main and
Imperial. If we have a time frame, we have a
lead. Sometimes people might say they saw
a white car or a plate that had a ‘3’ on it.”
Working out the logistics of where to place
the readers turned out to be a tricky process. The
El Segundo City Council in February gave the
go-ahead to install them at different locations
around town. Garcia and Public Works staff
went out with the vendor (Vigilant Solutions) to
scope out spots. Easier said than done. “There
are a lot of restrictions,” Garcia explained.
“The biggest is Caltrans on PCH since they
control and service all the traffic signals and
do not allow automated license plate reader
technology on their equipment. So we can’t
put them there.” Imperial Highway was also a
no-go since the City of Los Angeles controls
that artery. “We needed special permission
to have them on Main and Imperial Avenue
-- even though that is clearly in El Segundo
-- because our lights are timed with the City
of LA’s signals. We got the okay, but we can’t
use their DWP power. Edison had to come up
with architectural plans to provide power.”
The plan is to install 34 new readers. Garcia
noted that the process is still in the contract
phase, though talks between the City Attorney
and the vendor were close to wrapping up as
of press time. Once the contract is finalized,
certified and registered, the next phase is
drafting a purchase order and posted it. After
issuing the purchase order, it’s still another 90
to 120 days until the readers go up. Hence the
mid-summer projection if all goes smoothly
from here on out. “The wheels of progress
are slow,” Garcia admitted.
Those wheels went at a snail’s pace
considering that plans to purchase this equipment
go back a number of years and involved
police captains who have since retired. “It [the
purchase] fizzled out due to lack of funding
and other obstacles,” Garcia said. “Eventually,
if fell into my lap and we finally were able
to move forward with the Council’s blessing.”
Proposed locations for the readers include
Main and Imperial both north and southbound
going in and out of the city; El Segundo
Boulevard and Illinois Street both east and
westbound; Grand Avenue and Kansas Street
east and westbound; El Segundo Boulevard
and Continental Boulevard eastbound only; El
Segundo Boulevard and Isis westbound only;
and Rosecrans Avenue and Douglas Street
westbound only. Crews will install one camera
per lane at each fixed location (26 combined).
“We will also outfit two police cars with four
cameras each,” Garcia said.
The decision to go eastbound only at El
Segundo Boulevard and Continental was a
strategic move, according to Garcia. “Since The
Point and Plaza El Segundo have become operational,
there has been more crime in that area,”
he said. “People flee from that location and bolt
north before heading eastbound on El Segundo
Boulevard to get to the freeway. We know they
are going in that direction. We also anticipate
TopGolf coming online in the future. If any
crimes occur, we want to catch anything that
goes east.” For Rosecrans and Douglas, El
Segundo readers will be on the westbound side
only since Manhattan Beach has them at the
same intersection capturing eastbound traffic.
Asked to address concerns that the readers
record the whereabouts of innocent citizens
and create another layer of Big Brother watching
us all, Garcia responded, “We are here to
preserve anyone’s privacy and not be invasive
in any way, which is why this is progressing
slowly – because we want to do this the
right way.” But he added, “Everyone in this
geographic area has already had their license
plate read. They are up in the airport, through
the City of LA, Manhattan Beach. Anywhere
you drove north or south or east, you drove
through a license plate reader. Some people
are overly concerned because they believe we
are monitoring that part of their lives. However
that data is kept confidential and we are the
only ones who have access to it. I think it’s
more invasive having a cell phone or using a
computer because those track exactly where
you are and what you query. That’s why you
get specific ads on your devices. They develop
a profile to get you to buy things.”
Police Chief Bill Whalen said he understands
the concerns some community members may
have with the use of this additional technology.
“This program is something we have
been very thoughtful and deliberate with both
on the implementation and with our policies
governing the use of the system,” he explained.
“This system will only be used to apprehend
criminals who come to El Segundo to victimize
our community. Criminals have gotten
increasingly sophisticated and it’s critical we
appropriately embrace technology to ensure
we are doing everything possible to keep this
community safe”.
Garcia added that the surrounding cities all
have operating plate readers at various intersections.
El Segundo will be the last to join the
party. “We will be part of a regional system,”
Garcia said. “By joining this group, we get to
share information including their databases. We
can query partial plates and times of day to
possibly identify suspects for crimes within our
city. Also we can alert about a car associated
with crimes that is in our city.”
According to reports, the system has been a
success in Manhattan Beach as well as in other
communities. “Anecdotally, they get database
hits all the time,” Garcia said of our westerly
neighbors to the south. “They limit it to felony
and stolen vehicles. You can hit on every little
warrant if you want. This is a learning process
for us to see where we want to get the hits.
Our true intent is for this to help us solve
crime and leverage technology to help us do
our job better. Law enforcement is changing.
We’ve had accidents with officers running plates
manually. The readers are a lot more efficient
and enhance the safety of our citizens.” •
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