Attorney General Bonta Sues El Cajon for Illegally Sharing License Plate Data with Out-of-State Law Enforcement

SAN DIEGO — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today filed a lawsuit against the City of El Cajon over its refusal to comply with state law prohibiting the sharing of license plate data with federal and out-of-state law enforcement agencies. Under California law, state and local law enforcement agencies are prohibited from sharing data pulled from Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) systems with federal and out-of-state law enforcement, where the data’s use is beyond the reach of California’s oversight and regulation. Yet despite clear guidance and multiple warnings, the City of El Cajon Police Department continues to share this data with numerous out-of-state law enforcement agencies throughout the country. In today’s filing, Attorney General Bonta asks the San Diego County Superior Court to declare the El Cajon Police Department’s current practice unlawful and to order El Cajon to cease the illegal sharing of ALPR data. 

“To protect public safety, you need public trust. As the Trump Administration continues to target California’s immigrant communities, it is important that state and local law enforcement are not seen as a tool in furthering the President’s mass deportation agenda,” said Attorney General Bonta. “When information about Californians leaves the state, we no longer have any say over how it is used or shared. That’s why the California Legislature passed SB 34 — to ensure information about Californians remains here in California. Yet El Cajon has knowingly and repeatedly refused to comply with state law, jeopardizing the privacy and safety of individuals in its community. Today, we’re asking a court to put this issue to bed and definitively affirm that California law prohibits the sharing of license plate data with federal and out-of-state agencies.” 

ALPR systems are computer-controlled camera systems that capture images of license plates and record the time, date, and location that a particular vehicle was encountered. ALPR systems are used for surveillance; they can collect and store location information that reveals sensitive details about where individuals work, live, associate, worship, seek medical care, travel, and more. ALPR systems are generally operated through third-party vendors that deploy cameras and collect and store ALPR data. In recent years, concerns have arisen that ALPR systems might be misused by federal or out-of-state law enforcement for immigration enforcement, surveillance of protestors exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech, or tracking individuals coming to California for reproductive care, among other purposes.

In October 2023, Attorney General Bonta issued a law enforcement bulletin providing guidance and model policies regarding the use of data collected or accessed through an ALPR system. The bulletin advised, among other things, that SB 34’s definition of the term “public agency” does not include out-of-state and federal agencies, including law enforcement agencies. After learning that the City of El Cajon was sharing ALPR data with numerous out-of-state law enforcement agencies, the Attorney General contacted the El Cajon Police Chief regarding the limitations on ALPR data-sharing in state law. Despite this and subsequent outreach, the El Cajon Police Department and the City of El Cajon have refused to cease the unlawful practice of sharing ALPR data with out-of-state agencies. These include law enforcement agencies in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.  

In order to bring the City of El Cajon into compliance with SB 34, the Attorney General today filed a petition for a writ of mandate in San Diego County Superior Court.  

A copy of the petition is available here.