The Marion County Sheriff’s Office has announced the installation of several Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras at strategic locations throughout the county. 

This technology will automatically capture the license plates of passing vehicles, enhancing the Sheriff’s Office’s ability to support investigations and improve public safety. The ALPR system will aid in several key areas, including identifying stolen vehicles, tracking cars linked to criminal activity, and assisting in locating vehicles associated with Amber Alerts. It will also help in the search for missing, endangered, or wanted individuals, and in tracking vehicles linked to cases of suicide prevention.

Sheriff Jason Sandholdt emphasized that the cameras are not used for facial recognition, personal identification, or traffic enforcement. Additionally, the data collected is not shared with third parties. The system functions similarly to having a deputy observe vehicles in a specific area, and providing the same level of monitoring without the need for constant human oversight. Within the last week, one of these cameras was utilized to narrow the search for the missing duck hunter on Lake Red Rock.  Without the aid of this technology, the search area would have doubled.

Protecting community privacy is a top priority. All data collected by the ALPR system will remain confidential, and the images captured are used exclusively for law enforcement purposes. While the system is not actively monitored, any data that is collected will be retained only if it is relevant to an ongoing investigation. In most cases, the data will be automatically deleted within 30 days.

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office views the ALPR system as a valuable tool to enhance public safety, streamline investigations, and better serve and protect the citizens of Marion County and its municipalities.