Community members voiced concerns at a Kerrville City Council meeting on Tuesday over the city’s use of automated license plate reader cameras, saying the technology raises privacy and safety concerns.
Several speakers said the cameras, known as ALPRs, can do more harm than good and questioned who controls them and how the data is used.
“ALPRs put a target on everyone, as we’ve seen with recent arrests for people with misread license plates,” one speaker said. “In August, when I talked to y’all, you told me they were TxDOT’s (Texas Department of Transportation) cameras and was something y’all had nothing to do with and no control over.”
The issue is one KSAT has been reporting on for more than a month.
In late September, a spokesperson for the City of Kerrville sent KSAT a statement addressing recent action by TxDOT related to automated license plate readers.
“Based on the information currently available, the Texas Department of Transportation’s action pauses new permits for automated license plate readers along state-owned roadways,” the statement read. “It does not appear to require local governments to discontinue existing LPR systems or prohibit their use generally.”
The Kerrville Police Department currently operates eight fixed artificial intelligence-powered cameras that photograph license plates and scan them against real-time law enforcement databases.
The city’s current camera infrastructure was expanded in 2023 through a $70,000 state grant from Gov. Greg Abbott.
Read also:
