To the Rice Campus community,
The Rice University Police Department (RUPD) remains committed to providing a safe and secure environment to further the university’s mission of teaching and research. In support of this mission, RUPD continues to explore how we can leverage technology to achieve our goal of creating the safest campus possible. One of these tools that has recently been credited with helping improve security in other communities has been the implementation of Automated License Plate Readers, or ALPR cameras. ALPR cameras have proven effective in helping law enforcement solve crimes quickly. They also mitigate bias by focusing on wholly objective evidence, such as license plate numbers and vehicle details. For this reason, RUPD plans to pilot a program for the next 45 days utilizing a limited number of ALPR cameras on campus to determine if this technology can help resolve cases by providing investigative data when an incident occurs on campus.
Because of their proven commitment to safeguarding privacy rights, RUPD is partnering with a company named Flock Safety to pilot the use of ALPR. One of the ways Flock ensures the privacy and trust of communities is by only allowing access to camera footage to trained, accredited law enforcement professionals. In addition to limiting access to data, Flock stores footage for only 30 days before it is deleted and will never share or sell information to a third party. In addition to Flock Safety's embedded privacy protection features, RUPD will follow the current camera policy, which limits access and the use of video footage to support law enforcement investigations only.
The ALPR cameras RUPD will be testing will be strategically placed at public entrances to campus to capture vehicle and license plate information which, in the event of a crime occurring on campus, may assist investigators in their investigation. The cameras will be able to monitor vehicles that enter campus and have been previously identified as either stolen or suspect vehicles from a crime that occurred on or off campus. RUPD will then use the information and other investigative tools to determine if there is a risk to campus safety and take proactive measures. If you want to learn more about ALPR cameras and Flock Safety, please visit https://www.flocksafety.com/.
Respectfully,
Clemente Rodriguez, Chief of Police, Director, Public Safety