How does Elk Grove use license plate readers? Is crime down? What to know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Elk Grove uses about 87 ALPR units, stores plate data for 30 days.
- From March 2021 to present ALPRs logged 1,548 alerts; 866 led to arrests.
- Overall crime down 2% in 2025; homicides and assaults specifically increased.
Residents called for Elk Grove to cancel its contract with a controversial automatic license plate reader company, as the Elk Grove Police Department discussed the use of the technology and presented its annual report on crime in the city Wednesday.
Chief of Police Bobby Davis and Andrea Cortez, the city’s real time information center manager, said the city has had ALPR technology, a system mounted to a fixed location or a police vehicle that captures vehicle license plate information, since 2008.
The city has about 87 ALPRs across the city, Cortez said, and information is only stored for 30 days.
The city has used the Flock system since a trial run in 2021 and contracting with them in 2022.
Residents at the meeting expressed concern with the city’s contract with Flock and security with data sharing. Many asked the City Council to cancel its contract with Flock and choose another vendor.
The use of license plate readers by California law enforcement has been criticized by those concerned that sharing this data could harm undocumented residents and people seeking reproductive or gender-affirming health care.
A 2016 law prohibited sharing data with out-of-state law enforcement and federal agencies, but agencies including the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and the Sacramento Police Department have violated that law.
In December, Richmond suspended its Flock cameras after finding that the system allowed agencies outside of state to access data. Mountain View did the same in February, according to ABC7 News. Santa Cruz and Los Altos also stopped using Flock this year because of privacy concerns, according to KQED.
“This could happen here,” one resident said, acknowledging that while Elk Grove may not intend to share data, it could still be accessed by federal agencies.
Controlling access
Davis said that the settings that likely allowed outside agencies to access data in other areas are turned off in Elk Grove.
The city has signed memorandums of understanding with other law enforcement entities in accordance with California laws to share information, Cortez said.
“There is no out of state data sharing and we only share with the appropriate law enforcement entities in the state of California,” Cortez said.
Davis reiterated that the city does not share information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We do not share with ICE,” Davis said. “It is not something that we have ever done at the city. There has not been an instance in the history of the Elk Grove Police Department where we have provided ICE any information or provided assistance with any arrest.”
Cortez said the city should rely on the California Department of Justice for audits on data-sharing rather than the audits conducted by other cities and agencies.
From March 2021 to present day, the city has collected 1,548 alerts on vehicles through ALPR cameras, and 866 resulted in an arrest, according to Cortez’s report.
Calls for service using ALPR totaled 5,293. These include police investigating a hit-and-run and looking to confirm a license plate and direction of travel, Cortez said. Seven hundred of those have resulted in an arrest.
The cameras have also been used in 93 missing persons cases, 1,548 hit-and-run cases, 640 reckless driving reports and 536 stolen vehicle reports.
What was Elk Grove crime like in 2025?
Overall crime in the city is down 2%, and crimes against persons, including homicide and assault, are down 1%, Davis said in presenting the department’s annual crime report.
“While there were overall reductions, increases in our simple assaults, domestic violence and homicides have offset some of those gains,” Davis said.
Homicides in Elk Grove increased in 2025, with seven deaths recorded by the department, up from four the previous year.
“Each case was determined to be an isolated incident, with five involving a domestic violence component,” the report said.
Assaults also rose, which the report said was “primarily driven by domestic violence and other battery-related incidents,” the report said.
The department responded to 99,875 calls for service and arrested 2,376 people, an 11% increase from 2024. Less than 1% of all contacts, or 94 instances, involved the use of force, Davis said, which was 30% less than 2024.
“We’re very proud of that number,” Davis said. Every use of force instance is followed by an investigation, he said.
There were 121 missing persons cases, all of which were closed.
Crimes against society increased by 23%, “driven primarily by enhanced enforcement related to DUI, drug-related offenses and trespassing violations,” Davis said. Crimes against property, such as shoplifting, arson, embezzlement and identity theft, are overall down 6%, though shoplifting and embezzlement increased.
The department issued 9,313 traffic citations, up from 7,827 in 2024, and 252 DUI arrests.
Traffic collisions totaled 1,404, a 25% increase from 2024 and 10 traffic fatalities, compared to six in 2024.
“In response to these increases, the police department will be conducting a comprehensive yearlong traffic analysis to make the roads safer for the residents of Elk Grove, by identifying trends, high risk areas, providing education and enforcement needs while also expanding staffing within the traffic bureau,” Davis said.
What’s the Elk Grove Police Department’s budget?
The department’s budget was approximately $78.2 million, including $69 million from the city’s general fund and $6.7 million from Measure E, the city’s one-cent sales tax that funds community priorities, Davis said.
The department has 160 sworn staff and 118 professional staff, and the vacancy rate of positions is 8%. The makeup is 153 male and 125 female. The department’s officers are 53.6% white, 21.6% Hispanic, 14% Asian, 9% Black and 1.4% people who identified as two or more races.
This story was originally published March 28, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
