CLEVELAND, OH – Following calls from city officials to temporarily pause the use of automated license plate readers (ALPRs), the Cleveland Police chief went to bat defending the technology while alleging the outlined concerns by the respective police commission are being misrepresented.
The city of Cleveland’s Community Police Commission is a group composed of appointed civilians representing a “broad spectrum of life experience,” consisting of personalities ranging from law enforcement subject matter experts to de facto social justice advocates. This past September, the commission voted in favor of pausing the use of ALPR technology by the Cleveland Police Department (CPD) by January 2027 pending an updated policy regarding the use of the technology.
Much of the motivation behind the commission’s push to suspend the use of ALPR technology stems from concerns of the obtained data and overall technology being misused.
CPD Chief Dorothy Todd, in response to the aforementioned vote, took issue with the motivation to suspend the use of the technology. While Chief Todd acknowledged instances of alleged misuse in various departments across the country, she challenged the commission on where any cases existed where CPD officers or officials were accused of misuse.
“Where improper use has occurred in other jurisdictions, the appropriate response is accountability for the individuals or agencies responsible, along with appropriate safeguards to prevent recurrence - not an assumption that the same conduct has occurred within CDP,” Chief Todd informed the commission.
Outside of what Chief Todd believes to be misplaced concerns regarding potential abuse of ALPRs, she also emphasized that the CPD hosts an existing overarching policy that was adopted in October 2025 which consists of limits on data retention, historical searches restrictions, and incorporates annual training audits and public reporting. Chief Todd also refuted allegations from the commission that millions of reported outside searches equate to millions of outside searches utilizing CPD’s ALPR cameras.
According to the commission’s late September vote, they want an ALPR policy review to begin within 30 days. However, questions still remain whether said body even has the authority to prohibit the CPD’s use of said technology.
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