09/23/2026
Last night’s news story about Naperville’s license plate reader system highlights why strong policies, safeguards and oversight around public safety technology matter.
Since joining Council last spring, I’ve spent a lot of time discussing ALPRs, cameras and drones with Chief Arres and City staff, reviewing our policies, asking questions, and working through the balance between giving our police the tools they need to keep our community safe, protecting residents’ privacy, and ensuring we have safeguards in place to identify misuse and hold people accountable.
Oversight and setting policy are important parts of our job as Council members. When it comes to technology that raises privacy concerns, we need strong guardrails, transparency and accountability built in from the start. It’s why I pushed back on the proposed expansion of the City’s security camera network earlier this month.
When we consider whether to implement or expand these technologies, the question can’t simply be, “Could this technology help keep someone safe?” Almost any surveillance technology could meet that test. Our responsibility is to ask the harder question: Does the public safety benefit justify the intrusion on our privacy, and have we put appropriate limits and safeguards around its use?
As you can probably tell from the picture, I’ve gone through our ALPR policy pretty carefully and spent a lot of time digging into the details, the privacy safeguards, and the accountability standards. I invite you to take a look, too. What stands out to you? What questions do you have?
https://www.naperville.il.us/services/naperville-police-department/about-the-police-department/police-transparency/
