Greeley police to hold two public sessions on license plate readers

The Greeley Police Department plans to host two public information sessions on automated license plate readers, on Monday, Nov. 16, at the Greeley Family FunPlex and Monday, Nov. 30, at City Center South, both from 6 to 7 p.m.

The first session is at the Greeley Family FunPlex, 1501 65th Avenue. The second is in the Council Chambers at City Center South, 1001 11th Avenue.

The sessions are intended to explain how Greeley uses the technology, its privacy protections and steps taken in response to feedback from City Council and the community. Attendees can hear from Police Chief Adam Turk and his team and ask questions.

Greeley said its license plate cameras capture a vehicle's license plate, state, type and color, as well as the time and location. The cameras do not capture faces, drivers, passengers or personal information, and they do not use facial recognition, the city said.

Information from the cameras is kept for 21 days unless it is needed as evidence in a criminal case, Greeley said. Only trained and authorized personnel may search the system, searches must have a documented law enforcement purpose, and all searches are logged, the city said.

The police department said it uses the readers to help locate stolen vehicles, missing persons and vehicles connected to criminal investigations. The cameras read license plates on public roads and compare them with law enforcement lists of vehicles officers are already looking for, the department said.

Greeley said the readers are never used for immigration enforcement, proactive traffic tickets, personal use, harassment or targeting someone based on a protected characteristic.

Residents can also visit SpeakUpGreeley.com/ALPR to take a survey, submit a question for an expert to answer and access videos, key dates and a Real Time Information Center timeline.