Marin supervisors approve license plate readers

A proposal to install 31 automated license plate readers at nine locations in unincorporated Marin received the unanimous approval of the Marin County Board of Supervisors this week.

Marin County Sheriff Jamie Scardina presented his plan to the supervisors at a public meeting on Tuesday as required under Senate Bill 34.

“We want to be transparent in what we are doing,” Scardina said.

Several Marin residents voiced their support for the installation of the cameras, which will be managed by the Flock Group of Atlanta, Georgia.

There were some skeptics.

“My main concern is tracking and identifying immigrants that are being searched for by ICE ,” Stephen Bingham of San Rafael, a retired staff attorney for Bay Area Legal Aid said of the federal immigration and customs enforcement agency.

Tammy Edmonson, a co-founder of Mill Valley Force for Racial Equity and Empowerment, said, “The sheriff so far has refused to acknowledge or address the racial disparities in his office’s policing. This proposal doesn’t include safeguards or oversight to ensure that this will not be used to further target communities of color.”

Jason Sarris said, “I have an issue with cameras being put in marginalized communities like Binford Road and Marin City. That to me is biased.”

The presentation by the sheriff’s office addressed most of the issues raised by the critics.

Sheriff’s Sgt. John Pence explained that several cameras would be placed at fixed locations and would automatically take still photographs of the rear of each vehicle that passes.

“The nice thing about this system is it takes the human bias out of our crime-solving by detecting objective data and events that are objectively illegal such as stolen vehicles,” Pence said. “It does not identify individuals. It only identifies vehicles. It’s not facial recognition.”

Pence said the information would be encrypted and stored securely on the internet for 30 days and then destroyed. Flock will not have access to the data. The sergeant added that the data would not be shared with any federal entities, only local and state law enforcement agencies. As for the location of the cameras, that determination was made based on statistical hot spots for crime.

Felecia Gaston, founder of the Phoenix Project, a Marin City organization, spoke in favor of the placement of cameras in Marin City. A survey conducted in February by the Phoenix Project found that 63% of respondents supported the use of surveillance cameras in the neighborhood, with some recommending the only entrance and exit to the community as a possible location.

“People really like the idea of having cameras for safety reasons and especially when they focus on the entrance to Marin City,” Gaston said. “Having the cameras there will really make a big difference.”

A number of Marin municipalities and homeowners associations have already installed their own automated license plate readers managed by Flock.

“We think it’s great what they’re doing,” said Trip Ames, a member of the Paradise Cay Homeowners Association board.

Ames said his association recently installed Flock cameras and plans to work closely with the sheriff’s office in utilizing the data they produce, if there is an incident in their community. Ames said the 225 residents of the community can ensure that their vehicles aren’t tracked by the system by registering them.

The Sleepy Hollow Homes Association is also considering installing Flock cameras.

“We like the fact that the cameras are visible,” said Gina Singleton, the association’s president. “We think that alone is a proactive approach to eliminating some of the incidents that can happen in an area.”

The sheriff is signing a two-year, $198,650, contract with Flock to manage the cameras, but has pledged to re-evaluate the program in one year. The money will come from the sheriff’s share of the state’s vehicle theft fund.

“I want to thank the sheriff’s office for bringing this forward,” said Supervisor Eric Lucan. “I think you thought through all of the concerns that we’ve heard. You’ve engaged the community. It’s been well researched and vetted.”

Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters said, “I know it is the case in southern Marin and I think throughout the county that our sheriff’s force has been stretched thin. There is a call both in Marin City and also in Strawberry for some additional capability down there that these cameras would provide.

“We don’t have high crime rates in Marin,” Moulton-Peters said, “but when it’s your car that’s stolen or your store that’s robbed, this can make a difference.”