Concerns arise over Lodi police access to utility info

City says practices regarding electric utility information are currently under review

Should Lodi police have access to your utilities account? At least one Lodian thinks not.

When Lodi resident Stan Cortez was listening to his police scanner more than a month ago, he heard a Lodi police officer ask a dispatcher to log into the Lodi Electric Utility Department’s online database and relay a suspect’s information back to the officer, he said.

Cortez, who owns Stan’s Mobile Auto Repair, reported that he has heard this happen three or four times since, and expressed concerns regarding the legality of the Lodi Police Department having access to residents’ utilities accounts. He said that he never received a response from Lodi Electric Utility when he asked about the police department’s access, but said that the police themselves admitted to having access when he asked them.

“What really bothers me is that no one else, including the police department, seems to be concerned. I’ve studied California law, particularly civil rights, for 30 years — although I’m not licensed. Law enforcement agencies nationwide need warrants to access private consumer information,” Cortez said.

Lt. Sierra Brucia confirmed that the Lodi Police Department has had access to people’s utilities accounts for at least 20 years. He explained that officers mostly use it in criminal investigations to determine where a suspect lives, or when a vehicle is involved in a collision and police have no other way to contact the owner.

“We do have access to the city’s utilities account, but we do not share that information. If someone were to file a PIA (Public Information Act) request, we wouldn’t give it out. It’s not for personal use, that’s for sure. It’s used at the officer’s request to locate residents for community or public safety needs,” Brucia said.

One person who shares Cortez’s concerns is Elisa Della-Piana, legal director of the San Francisco Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. While she is unaware of any specific legal precedents that might apply, she said that the privacy aspect would be

worth looking into.

“It certainly raises legal concerns, people shouldn’t have to choose between electricity and privacy. The Constitution guarantees our right to privacy, and this would definitely raise some concerns,” Della-Piana said.

The City of Lodi issued the following statement:

“The City has determined that electric usage information

has on occasion been reported to the Lodi Police Department. The City is reviewing these practices to ensure all utility customers’ privacy is safeguarded and has ordered staff not to use utility information in this fashion until that review is completed. The Police Department also uses utility account information to locate the absent resident of a home

where there may be an emergency, or to follow-up complaints of possible criminal activity and this practice will continue for the benefit of our residents.”