At the emergency City Council meeting July 9, 2025, the City Council voted to curtail but not cancel the use of license plate reading technology now in use throughout the city.
Technology cuts in both directions; the benefit of having the ability to obtain information may be undercut by the risk of how that information will be used. The council voted to agendize the item at the June 30, 2025 emergency Council meeting after a number of Culver City residents pointed out the possibility of public harm in the current political climate.
The only vote against was Mayor Dan O’Brien, who offered “There is all kinds of data that can be used illegally…I’m not in favor of changing anything.”
The automated license plate reading technology, known as ALPR, has long been used in the city-owned parking garages. It was approved by the council to be used at public traffic intersections in May of 2023. The cameras and the data are under a five year contract with a private company, Flock Safety Group, at a cost to the city of $668,200.
The council moved to “..limit the use of ALPR to within Culver City only, get reports on transparency every two months, and to review, if possible, if the crime originated in Culver City.”
Voting in favor were Vice Mayor Freddy Puza, Council member Albert Vera, Jr., Council member Yasmine Imani McMorrin, and Council member Bubba Fish.
Judith Martin-Straw
