Overview

• Records show Los Angeles Police Department and sheriff’s offices in San Diego, Orange and Riverside counties ran over 100 automated plate reader searches for ICE and Border Patrol last month, violating a decade-old California law
• Senate Bill 34 bars state agencies from sharing license plate data with federal entities or out-of-state authorities and requires stated purposes for each query
• Civil liberties advocates documented 71 law enforcement violations in 2023 and are calling on Attorney General Rob Bonta to pursue investigations and legal action
• The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has launched an internal review of its data-sharing practices and pledged to discipline any personnel found in breach of policy
• State Senator Sabrina Cervantes has introduced legislation to tighten oversight and enforce compliance with automated license plate reader rules following repeated agency noncompliance