EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. – Sheriff Jeff Leikauf is making a presentation about the use of license plate readers (LPR) to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, October 26. The item is time certain for 11 a.m., meaning it can not be heard until at least then. It will not be a vote, just a presentation.
The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office (EDSO) has used LPR technology in the Lake Tahoe Basin since 2014 and now has 30 cameras across the county.
Since 2022, the license plate readers have:
- Helped solve 191 cases
- Helped in 356 drug cases
The cameras, commonly known as Flock cameras, are also made by other manufacturers, including Motorola, and EDSO uses a combination of both.
Leikauf’s presentation states that the most common uses with the readers are narcotic trafficking, burglaries, stolen vehicles, shoplifting/organized retail theft, and missing persons/search and rescue.
The El Dorado County cameras collect: A still photo of the rear license plate; Date, time, and location of the camera reading it; Vehicle descriptors when visible: make, model, color.
It does not focuse on: The interior of the vehicle; Facial recognition or continuous live tracking; Drivers or passengers.
According to Leikauf’s presentation, his department shares the information with California law enforcement agencies only. The current system connects with 23 agencies through Motorola and 264 through Flock. They do not share any information with out-of-state agencies, federal agencies, or private entities. SB 54 prohibits sharing the LPR data with federal immigration agencies such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Common concerns to be answered in the presentation:
Is this a surveillance system?
It is a vehicle plate-reading investigative tool. It does not focus on people inside vehicles or use facial recognition.
Can a hit alone justify enforcement?
No. A hit is an investigative lead and must be corroborated.
Who can access it?
Only trained, authorized users with individual logins and audit trails.
Is data shared with ICE, CBP, or federal agencies?
No. EDSO does not share with federal agencies; SB 54 specifically prohibits sharing with federal immigration agencies.
How is misuse checked?
Monthly audits review justifications, repeat searches, short-period search patterns, and inconsistent case information.
Why keep it?
It has helped solve cases involving homicide, human trafficking, narcotics, overdose death, burglary, theft, and stolen vehicles.
A 2 p.m. time certain agenda item will be on a proposed biomass-powered heat and power unit for the county jail in Placerville. The county has a Board of Supervisors Biomass Ad Hoc Committee.
To read the complete agenda and get instructions on participation, visit HERE.