La Mesa police may soon purchase a controversial system to scan license plates – The San Diego Union-Tribune
La Mesa police may soon purchase cameras to scan the license plates of cars, a system already employed in El Cajon that critics say is illegally sharing data across state lines.
During a monthly meeting Wednesday of the La Mesa Police Oversight Board, Police Chief Ray Sweeney said the department planned to propose buying a Flock Safety license plate reader camera system during the City Council meeting on Oct. 10. If approved, the cameras would be an additional surveillance system to the vehicle-mounted license plate reader system La Mesa currently has through Vigilant Solutions.
The system, which was installed by the El Cajon Police Department in July, sends real-time crime alerts to law enforcement whenever cameras detect a stolen or known wanted vehicle from a local, state or national database.