AUSTIN, Texas — Automatic license plate readers will continue running in Austin for the next three months.
On Thursday, the Austin City Council approved extending the program, which began as a year-long trial in March 2024 to help police find violent criminals and missing people. The extension means the program will now run through June 30.
The cameras take a picture of each passing vehicle and compare license plates to law enforcement databases. If the plates are then linked to certain crimes, it alerts police.
The Austin Police Department has praised the technology, calling it a valuable tool that had led to the arrests of multiple suspects and the recovery of stolen vehicles.
However, some people have raised privacy concerns about the cameras, with District 7 Councilmember Mike Siegel, who took office in January, referring to the cameras as part of a “mass surveillance program.”
City officials say the data is destroyed after seven days unless it involves a missing person or criminal investigation.
In a memo to the city council on Tuesday, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis called automatic license plate readers “integral to the plan for reducing violent crime citywide.” According to the memo, 40 fixed license plate readers are running in Austin, with the highest concentration in the downtown entertainment district.
A spokesperson with the Austin Police Department said that as of Tuesday, those readers have led to 241 stolen vehicles being recovered and 222 arrests. Davis said those include suspects for murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, aggravated assault, robbery, auto theft and assault with injury.