HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2410-3612CITY OF PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
Special Meeting
Monday, December 16, 2024
Council Chambers & Hybrid
5:30 PM
Agenda Item
30.Surveillance Technology Report for Fiscal Year 2024; CEQA Status – Not a Project.
City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: INFORMATION REPORTS
Lead Department: City Manager
Meeting Date: December 16, 2024
Report #:2410-3612
TITLE
Surveillance Technology Report for Fiscal Year 2024; CEQA Status – Not a Project.
RECOMMENDATION
This is an informational report about the City’s use of surveillance technology in Palo Alto
during the Fiscal Year 2024, and no City Council action is required.
BACKGROUND
In September 2019, Council adopted the Surveillance and Privacy Protection Ordinance
establishing criteria and procedures for protection of personal privacy when considering the
acquisition and use of surveillance technologies by the City1. Codified in the Municipal Code at
Chapter 2.30, Part 6A, the ordinance also outlines ongoing monitoring and annual reporting of
such technologies. Annual reporting must include the following information pursuant to PAMC
section 2.30.680(a):
1. A description of how each Council-approved surveillance technology was used, including
whether it captured images, sound, or information regarding members of the public
who are not suspected of engaging in unlawful conduct.
2. Whether and how often data acquired through the use of the surveillance technology
was shared with outside entities, the name of any recipient entity, the types of data
disclosed, and the reason for the disclosure.
3. A summary of any community complaints or concerns about the surveillance
technology.
4. Non-privileged and non-confidential information regarding the results of any internal
audits, information about violations of the surveillance use policy, and any actions taken
in response;
1 City Council 9/10/2018, Packet_20230808180403837.pdf (primegov.com)
5.Whether the surveillance technology has been effective at achieving its identified
purpose;
6.The number and nature of Public Records Act requests relating to the surveillance
technology.
7.Annual costs for the surveillance technology and for the compliance with this
surveillance and privacy protection ordinance, including personnel and other ongoing
costs, and sources or funding; and
8.Other relevant information as determined by the City Manager
This report covers activity in Fiscal Year 2024.
ANALYSIS
Pursuant to the approved ordinance, the following departmental activities are summarized in
the body of this report.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Police Public Contact – On June 18, 2024, the Council approved the contract with LensLock, an
audio and video system that will be used to document public contacts2. This includes but is not
limited to; traffic stops, parking enforcement, suspect interviews, witness interviews, victim
interviews, and any other citizen contact in response to a call for service or when investigating
criminal activity through user-activated audio and video recordings. The system’s metadata will
automatically flow into the evidence management application where video assets are verified
as original or exact duplicates (non-edited data) and managed as evidence.
The ongoing cost of the service will total $1,074,000, or $214,900 annually. The contract will
cost $1,181,400, including the additional services if required. The funding for the contract is
from the Capital Budget Project PD-20000—Police Video Recording Systems Replacement. To
date, there have been no audits, formal complaints or PRAs filed. The deployment of this
technology is scheduled for January 2025.
GPS Vehicle Tracking – On April 15th, 2024, Council approved the contract with StarChase LLC
for GPS Vehicle Tracking Implementation to safely track vehicles that may have been used in a
crime. The StarChase Guardian system allows officers to launch a small GPS tracking device
from a patrol vehicle and affix it to a fleeing suspect vehicle. The suspect vehicle can then be
tracked remotely, in lieu of a vehicle pursuit, and contacted later at a safer, more advantageous
location.
2 City Council Meeting Action Minutes, 6/18/2024:
https://recordsportal.paloalto.gov/Weblink/DocView.aspx?id=43174
The total cost of a three-year term is not to exceed $224, 657. In year one, this contract will
come at a total (grant-funded) cost of $165,308, including the launchers and GPS devices, initial
installation, and setup, 2-year warranty, user training, data storage, and tracking platform
access. The second year will come at a total (grant-funded) cost of $26,400, for continued
tracking platform access and data storage. Year three will come at a total cost of $32,955,
including continued tracking platform access, data storage, and a third year of warranty
coverage. The technology was recently launched on December 2 and no audits, PRAs, or
complaints been received.
eCitation Devices – On March 14, 2022, Council approved the acquisition of handheld
electronic citation devices with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology for the
purposes of traffic violation enforcement by police officers3. When in use, the cameras capture
license plate images that are processed through OCR analysis to call up the vehicle make, and
model information used to issue citation violations. The technology improves accuracy of
information as well as eliminating the need for manual entry into the Records Management
System (RMS). In FY2024 the maintenance cost was $17,166.
Fixed Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) – On April 3, 2023, Council approved the
contract with Flock Safety to implement fixed ALPR surveillance technology as well as approved
a use policy for the new camera equipment4. ALPR technology uses a combination of cameras
and computer software to scan the license plates of passing vehicles and other vehicle
characteristics such as make, model, type, and color. The technology can provide real-time
alerts when stolen or wanted vehicles enter an area and provides enhanced investigative
capabilities when a crime has already occurred. The annual cost of the contract is $52,500. This
cost is inclusive of camera use and database access. This was paid using the General Fund
money.
3 City Council Meeting 3/14/2022, Agenda Item #9, PDF Page 113,
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/v/8/agendas-minutes-reports/agendas-minutes/city-council-
agendas-minutes/2022/20220314/20220314pccsm-amended-final-revised-ppt.pdf
4 City Council Meeting 4/3/2023, https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/v/1/police-
department/public-information-portal/alpr-staff-report-4-3-2023.pdf
Understanding (MOU) with local agencies listed in Attachment A, where data is shared for
legitimate law enforcement investigative purposes related to a specific criminal investigation.
The technology has been successful in achieving its intended purpose. Thus far, real-time alerts
have contributed to the recovery of stolen and wanted vehicles, and investigative searches
have contributed to the identification and apprehension of criminal suspects. To date, there
have been no registered complaints or violations reported. While there has been some
community concern about the potential for misuse of the technology, the City has a clear policy
on its management and use5. There have been no PRAs requested in FY24.
Transportation
Traffic Signal Detection Hardware – On February 6th, 2023, the Council approved the contract
with Iteris for traffic signal operations6. The devices only detect when a vehicle is approaching
an intersection to serve the vehicle a green light phase. Currently, no data is being collected; it
is only used for real-time traffic signal operations. The system may provide data, including the
number of vehicles and when they arrive. No video or identifying information is or would be
collected other than the presence of a vehicle or bicycle.
The City has received complaints regarding our lack of video data collection. Members of the
public frequently request video footage, but we currently do not capture or store this type of
data. There have been no PRAs requested for FY24. Overall, this surveillance technology has
been very effective. This type of surveillance is successful and has been in use with traffic signal
operations within Palo Alto for over 20 years. The total annual contract cost is $80,000.
Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) Parking Enforcement. In February 2021, Council
approved the use of license plate recognition technology to be used for parking enforcement
and permit management. 7ALPR technology captures images of license plates to identify vehicle
information and track parking time. The images of license plates are for parking enforcement
only, data is expunged within 96 hours.
Although some residents may have reservations about utilizing automated software and
databases for parking enforcement, there have been no formal complaints filed, violations of its
use, nor PRA requests. In assessing its effectiveness, ALPR has successfully supported City
Residential Preferential Parking programs, providing both enforcement and permit
management efficiencies. Future use of ALPR will include use in public garages and lots such as
California Avenue garage, as well as other Downtown garages where Parking Guidance System
5 City Council Staff Report and Policy on Fixed ALPR: https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/v/1/police-
department/public-information-portal/alpr-staff-report-4-3-2023.pdf
6 City Council Meeting-Staff Report 2301-0754
7 City Council Meeting 2/22/2021, https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/v/1/city-
manager/misc/public-records-act-request-and-response-for-alpr-data.pdf
(provides real-time car parking information such as vehicle and slot counts) Four downtown
garages are getting parking guidance systems installed this fiscal year. The total annual
contract cost is $7,500 funded by the Parking Management and System Implementation Capital
Improvement Project (CIP).
Traffic Data Collection Cameras. In April 2021, Council approved the use of video technology
for traffic data collection8. The low-resolution video is used to collect bicycle, pedestrian,
parking occupancy and vehicular turning movement counts. Data collected is used to inform
appropriate traffic control measures or roadway improvements, signal timings, pedestrian, and
bicycle roadway improvements. It does not collect or retain audio, visual, location, nor other
personally identifiable information of people or vehicles.
•Any technology that collects information exclusively on or regarding City employees or
•contractors;
•Any technology used as part of the Foothills Fire Early Warning System to detect fires
•within the following areas:
•West Side: Skyline Blvd (Hwy 35) from Route 84 (Woodside Rd/La Honda Rd.) to
•Hwy 9
•North Side: Route 84 from Skyline to Alameda de las Pulgas
•East Side: Alameda de las Pulgas to Santa Cruz Ave to Junipero Serra Rd. to Foothill
Expwy.
•South Side: Draw a line from the intersection of Hwy 9 at Hwy 35 to the intersection of
Foothill Expwy at Magdalena.
8City Council Meeting 4/5/2021, https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/v/2/agendas-minutes-
reports/reports/city-manager-reports-cmrs/year-archive/2021/id-11985.pdf
The following two surveillance systems fall under these exemptions but are included in this
report for Council awareness.
Foothills Fire Safety Cameras. As part of the improvements to the Foothills Management Plan
the Office of Emergency Services deployed several AlertWildfire cameras in the Foothills for
early detection of wildfires as part of an interagency and countywide effort. This program is
now called Alert California.9
Electric Station Perimeter Security Cameras. Following the recommendations of a
commissioned security risk assessment of all the City’s electric substations, and supported by
Federal regulation, the City installed perimeter lighting and camera upgrades. The completed
system consists of lighting poles installed at specific perimeter locations at the nine electric
substations, with downward-facing pendant light fixtures that have prismatic glass to reduce
LED glare, intelligent foot-candle control for accurate lighting distribution where directed,
dimming features to keep the foot candle level low unless a trespasser is sensed, and visors to
limit light pollution. We have installed perimeter lighting and camera upgrades at 7 of the 9
substations. Video cameras were also mounted on the poles, with analytics added at the Utility
Control Center that will allow for alarming, detection, and quick review of camera footage.
Because the location of the substations and its cameras are only accessible to City employees
and its contractors, it is considered exempt. Currently, we have installed perimeter lighting and
camera upgrades at 7 of the 9 substations. The City plans to solicit the RFP for the remaining
two stations this winter and start construction in Spring 2025.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
ATTACHMENTS
APPROVED BY: Ed Shikada, City Manager
9 Alert California: https://cameras.alertcalifornia.org/?pos=37.3200_-122.1700_10
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ATTACHMENT A
A fixed ALPR system captures the date, time, location, license plate number (state, partial, paper, and
no plate), and vehicle characteristics (make, model, type, and color) of passing vehicles using the Palo
Alto Police Department’s ALPR system and the vendor’s vehicle identification technology. This data is
used for official law enforcement purposes, including but not limited to identifying stolen or wanted
vehicles, stolen license plates and missing persons, suspect interdiction, and stolen property recovery.
The data is shared with the below California entities, pursuant to MOU, on an ongoing basis for
legitimate law enforcement investigative purposes. These entities are authorized and verified local
enforcement officials and agencies who have made queries about criminal investigations. According
to the Palo Alto Municipal Code Section PAMC 2.30.680 (d) under Section 6, The Palo Alto Police
Department does not permit the sharing of ALPR data gathered by the City or its
contractors/subcontractors for the purpose of federal immigration enforcement. The ALPR use policy
is referenced in the staff report and linked here-
Alameda County SO
Albany PD
Burlingame PD
California Department of Corrections,
California Highway Patrol
Campbell PD
Capitola PD
Carmel PD
Central Marin PD
Citrus Heights PD
Colma PD
Danville PD
Dixon PD
Dublin PD (ACSO)
East Palo Alto PD
El Cerrito PD
Elk Grove PD
Fairfield PD
Folsom PD
Foster City PD
Fremont PD
Gilroy PD
Hayward PD
Hillsborough PD
Lincoln PD
Livermore PD
Los Altos PD
Los Gatos Monte Sereno PD
Menlo Park PD
Milpitas PD
Mountain View PD
Napa County SO
Newark PD
Oakley PD
Pleasanton PD
Redwood City PD
Roseville PD
Salinas PD
San Bruno PD
San Francisco PD
San Jose PD
San Leandro PD
San Mateo PD
San Mateo County SO
Santa Clara PD
Santa Rosa PD
Seaside PD
Solano County SO
Stanford University PD
Suisun City PD
Sunnyvale PD
Tracy PD
Union City PD
Vacaville PD
Vallejo PD
Walnut Creek PD
Watsonville PD
West Valley Mission College Dist PD
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