LTC 148-2017 Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) UpdateMIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC# 148-2017
LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Philip Levine and Members of e City Co ,f ission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: March 17, 2017
SUBJECT: Automated License Plate Read r (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.
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