To the Editor:

I am disappointed but not surprised by the St. Louis Park City Council’s support for the police department and their use of automatic license plate readers (ALPR) as discussed at the council’s April 6 special work group session. I understand that the need for oversight of how the police department uses and possibly shares data collected by the existing ALPR system should not be at odds with the department’s crime-fighting efforts.

During the work session, the police department assured council members that data collected by these ALPRs is strictly license plate data and is not shared with any Minnesota law enforcement agencies around the state unless they have individual written agreements with the St. Louis Park Police Department. But after that work session and a previous Police Advisory Commission meeting, it was still unclear if any of these outside organizations do not share data with federal agencies, such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

As a member of Progress in the Park, an informal group of St. Louis Park residents who are working to protect all of our citizens from government overreach, I am urging the City Council to strengthen its oversight over the police department’s expanding use of ALPR cameras. That would mean informing council and residents before adding any more than the current 16 cameras or agreeing to any additional software improvements suggested by the ALPR company, Flock. The City Council should also require quarterly audits of how this data is being collected and used and make these audits available to the residents of St. Louis Park.

Furthermore, the City Council called on the police department to launch an education effort to inform residents about the use of these surveillance tools — what they are, how they are used and how the SLPPD is protecting residents’ personal information. I await these efforts to improve transparency and accountability for our police officers and city officials.

Peter Ashkenaz
St. Louis Park

Published in the St. Louis Park + Hopkins Sun Sailor on May 7, 2026