The Modesto Police Department recently discovered that several federal agencies — including Border Patrol — had access to information from its Automated License Plate Reader system, despite a California law restricting data sharing.
As the name suggests, ALPR technology automatically detects license plates, helping law enforcement recover stolen vehicles, locate missing persons, identify vehicles connected to violent crimes and support time-sensitive and ongoing investigations.
Under state law, ALPR data sharing is limited to California public agencies…