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LTC 151-2017 Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) Updateivy\ B Ac H OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER NO, LTC# 151 -2017 LETTER TO COMMISSION TO: Mayor Philip Levine and Members of he City Co t mission FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager DATE: March 17, 2017 SUBJECT: Automated License Plate Reade ' (ALPR) Update This Letter to Commission is prepared to advise the Mayor and Commission about recent use of the Miami Beach Police Department's Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) in its mission to reduce crime in the City. In the past several weeks, there have been three significant instances in which ALPRs provided alerts to our patrol officers about stolen vehicles passing through the city that were wanted in connection with various crimes. These three incidents, which occurred on January 29, February 24, and March 14, resulted in the apprehension of four subjects and the filing of a number of criminal charges against those accused. These charges included Grand Theft Auto, numerous counts of Fleeing or Attempting to Elude a Law Enforcement Officer, Aggravated Assault with a Motor Vehicle, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. In each of these recent instances, the technology performed flawlessly, and our officers were able to converge on the suspect vehicles within minutes of the notification. It is a virtual certainty that the utilization of the ALPRs has prevented additional crimes and contributed to the overall six percent reduction in Part 1 crimes across the city in 2016. Beyond the immediate value that comes with a prompt notification to patrol officers of an ALPR "hit," the second great advantage of this technology is the assistance it provides to our detectives in criminal investigations. When a serious crime occurs, Miami Beach detectives, like those in most other major police departments in the country, rely on this technology more and more to identify cars (and suspects) in the vicinity of the crime at the time of occurrence. Since ALPRs have been introduced in our city, detectives have repeatedly and are now routinely using ALPR data in their post -event investigations to solve crime and arrest suspects, even well after the crime occurred. The Police Department's ALPR program has been in place since it acquired its first ALPR in 2011. The Department follows national best practices and Florida law on confidentiality, collection, storage, dissemination and purging of ALPR records. These records are used for law enforcement purposes only. The Department currently has 10 mobile ALPRs and three locations with fixed ALPRs. The City Commission has provided funding to the Department in the amount of $276,000 in FY 2016 -2017 to expand the use of cameras and ALPRs across the city to help reduce crime. Consistent with the prior direction of the Commission, the Department's primary focus for expansion is on placing fixed ALPRs at the major entry /exit points of the City. The biggest challenge in this regard continues to be the prohibition by the Florida Department of Transportation ,(FDOT) on placement of ALPRs in FDOT's right of way on state roads, The Police Department continues to research ways to place ALPRs at critical entry /exit points without intruding on the FDOT right of way. OSVD JLM:DJO:tr