Report 2019-118 Recommendation 47 Responses

Report 2019-118: Automated License Plate Readers: To Better Protect Individuals' Privacy, Law Enforcement Must Increase Its Safeguards for the Data It Collects (Release Date: February 2020)

Recommendation #47 To: Sacramento County Sheriff's Department

To minimize the privacy risk of retaining ALPR images for a long period of time, by August 2020, Sacramento should review the age of the ALPR images its personnel are searching for and ensure that its retention period for ALPR images is based on agency needs. Sacramento should reflect in its ALPR policy the updated retention period and state in its policy that it will reevaluate its retention period at least every two years.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2021

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office reviewed the retention period for ALPR images downloaded to the server and confirmed the images are purged after two years per policy. ALPR images downloaded to the server will be stored for two years based on agency investigative needs and California Government Code section 34090. General Order 10/12 (Automated License Plate Reader Program) was updated to include a statement that the ALPR data retention period will be reevaluated every two years.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

1-Year Agency Response

As of April 20, 2021, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department had not provided a response on the recommendations in this audit.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

6-Month Agency Response

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department did not provide a six-month response to this recommendation.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department did not provide a 60-day response.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2019-118

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.