DeKalb, IL. (ECWd) –
Mr. Charvat submitted a FOIA request to the city of DeKalb requesting the locations of the License Plate Reader (“LPR”) cameras within the city.
DeKalb denied the request claiming camera locations were exempt under vulnerability assessments, security measures, and response policies pr plans designed to identify, prevent, or respond to potential attacks upon a community’s population or systems, etc… essentially claiming the LPR cameras were a “security measure.”
In response to the city, Charvat provided an Affidavit showing photos he took of some of the LPR cameras, information from the house floor debate on the specific FOIA exemption claimed by the city, the city’s purchase receipts for some of the cameras indicating where they would be installed, and other publicly available information.
The AG stated, in part, that: “the facts the City set forth do not establish the element of the LPR camera locations being designed to address potential attacks upon the City’s population or systems, facilities, or installations. Rather, the City demonstrated that the LPR camera placements are designed to identify vehicles that are involved in commonplace, smaller-scale criminal activity, such as theft. Thus, while the LPR cameras clearly have a security purpose related to routine law enforcement activities, the nature of that purpose falls outside the plain language of the section 7(1)(v) exemption.”
The AG’s office finished by stating the LPR camera locations were not exempted from disclosure un FOIA, and asked the city to provide the informati0on requested.
Read the AG’s determination here:
