Agenda - Council - 09/22/2026 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Buscher noted that she had recently spoken with a police officer in the Dallas - Fort Worth area about ALPR technology and understood that, despite state -level controversy over funding, local governments there had elected to continue funding the technology because they considered it valuable. Sheriff Wise acknowledged the difficult political environment surrounding the issue. He explained that the Anoka County proposal was originally envisioned as a two-year pilot project costing about $250,000. As controversy increased, he worked within his authorized spending authority and negotiated a one-year pilot for approximately $175,000. He explained that the pilot would allow agencies already using drones and ALPRs to coordinate resources and evaluate a countywide collaborative approach. If successful and ultimately supported by participating jurisdictions, it could evolve into the broader Safe County initiative. He emphasized that participating communities would still need substantial discussion and agreement. Councilmember Peters asked whether the cameras were leased rather than purchased. Sheriff Wise confirmed that the program operated as a lease arrangement. He noted that future technological upgrades or changes would require additional discussions and emphasized that an individual law -enforcement agency could not simply impose participation on a municipality. Ramsey could elect to discontinue participation if the City ultimately decided the program no longer met its needs. Councilmember Peters asked about ownership and storage of the collected data. Sheriff Wise explained that the data belonged to the law -enforcement agency and was stored through the vendor's cloud -based system. He acknowledged that agencies necessarily relied on contractual agreements and technical safeguards when using third -party systems, just as municipalities relied upon vendors for police reports, body -camera evidence, and numerous other governmental systems. Councilmember Buscher asked whether the County had statistics showing how many crimes ALPR technology had solved or otherwise assisted with. Sheriff Wise explained that law -enforcement agencies historically had not consistently tracked that information because investigative reports and criminal complaints were generally written to avoid unnecessarily revealing investigative techniques. As a result, agencies might report recovering a stolen vehicle without separately recording that an ALPR produced the lead. He acknowledged that agencies needed to improve that tracking because residents and policymakers reasonably wanted measurable information regarding the technology's effectiveness. He noted that significant examples continued to accumulate, including a recent Wright County incident in which an ALPR hot -file alert reportedly helped prevent a potential homicide. Mayor Heineman commented that license -plate -reading technology has existed in the private sector for many years, including systems used by towing and repossession companies that can collect significant information about vehicle movements. He recognized the legitimacy of a City Council Work Session / September 8, 2026 Page 4 of 8