More license-plate cameras on the street in Sugar Land to prevent crime

Sugar Land has installed license-plate recognition cameras at 27 new locations in the northern part of the city, the result of a $1.6 million expenditure aimed at solving and preventing crimes.

“As part of a strategic process during the last several years, a number of meetings were held with homeowner associations and business districts throughout Sugar Land. Many expressed support for the expansion of crime-prevention cameras throughout the city,” Sugar Land spokesman Doug Adolph said.

The additional cameras have been installed primarily north of U.S. 90A. A city map shows the coverage area for the cameras extending from Texas 6 east to Dairy-Ashford Road and from the northern city limits south to the U.S. 59-Texas 6 intersection. To see the map, visit sugarlandtx.gov/crimecameras and click “LPR

Coverage Map.”

The system is operational and confined to public roadways and parks.

City Council approved the $1.6 million contract for installation of the cameras last September to go with existing cameras in Sugar Land Town Square and the First Colony Mall and in police vehicles. The city’s webpage cited cases in which the cameras have been used to identify suspects in two vehicle burglary cases, to capture a police impersonator and to recover 11 stolen vehicles.

The cameras capture video or photo images of license plates that are processed via computer. When a witness to a crime provides a description of a vehicle, police search a database for the vehicle and its license number, a city press release said. No live monitoring

The city does not conduct live monitoring of the system, and records from the cameras are only retained for up to 30 days unless they are part of a criminal investigation, the release said. The information will not be made public unless required by law for law enforcement matters, and that the system’s use “will be consistent with privacy laws and the constitutional rights of individuals,” the release stated.

Some of Sugar Land’s cameras are on traffic signal poles and others are on stand-alone poles, Adolph said.

Plans are for City Council to receive quarterly performance reports, which will be studied regarding whether the system should be expanded to other areas.

Gary Sanford, general manager of the Sugar Creek Homes Association, said the association already operates its own license-plate recognition system and that video from it helped police capture a suspect in a home burglary. Sugar Creek abuts the area where the city has expanded its program.

“It is another tool for law enforcement to use. It is beneficial. Many people live in Sugar Land because of the ease of access to major thoroughfares, such as U.S. 59,” Sanford said. “That easy access for residents also provides easy access for criminals.”

Sanford applauds the city’s initiative and hopes that officials will expand it across the entire city.

“I don’t feel like I am being monitored in my daily life,” he said. “I am not worried about the ‘Big Brother’ concerns.” Proper balance needed

Groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union recognize such programs can be helpful to law enforcement but say they require proper balance to protect innocent citizens.

ACLU Texas senior policy strategist Matt Simpson said that his group scrutinizes placement, monitoring, use and length of data retention of such systems.

“The 30-day retention policy sounds good. That is similar to what we would push for,” Simpson said.

He added the ACLU wants to make sure placing such camera systems is not a substitute for active policing or that cameras are positioned in disproportionate numbers in places such as churches or mosques, for instance.

Simpson believes the Legislature should consider a statewide policy to regulate use of such camera systems so that their application is not “piecemeal” across the state.

Mark A. Quick is a freelance writer