Behind TAPS’ Lens: What Does a Camera Capture? 

Editor’s Note: This is a developing story. Stay tuned for further City on a Hill Press coverage of this issue.

Every day countless students, staff, and campus visitors park their cars and rush to their next destination, unaware of the little cameras hidden in plain sight that are capturing the information of each license plate that passes by.

These cameras, specifically Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras, are a part of TAPS’ new virtual parking permit system that was announced in May 2024 and were implemented over the summer.

The technology’s introduction raises concerns of increased surveillance on campus, which can create a chilling effect on the student body, especially when ALPR data may be requested by law enforcement. 

Faculty shared concerns surrounding the implementation of ALPR systems on Jan. 10, 2024, when members of the Academic Senate sent questions to Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor (CPEVC) Lori Kletzer about proposed ALPR policy.

“[Committees on Research] feels that the use of ALPRs on our campus presents both privacy and information security concerns and could discourage visitors to campus who are essential for a vibrant research environment,” states the email. 

In an email with City On A Hill Press, Zac Zimmer, a professor of literature at UC Santa Cruz and former chair of the Committee on Information Technology, questioned the justification and necessity of APLR systems on campus. 

“We must ask: Does the addition of ALPR to UCSC’s campus advance our principles of community?” Zimmer said. “Or does it further put our most vulnerable communities at risk, for a nebulous promise of cost-savings?”

ALPR scanners are mounted on the A pillar of some TAPS vehicles and angled slightly downwards to better read license plates.

How do the Cameras Work?

ALPR cameras, mounted on TAPS vehicles, scan the license plate of a passing or parked vehicle, sending the plate to a database that holds records of the date and time of the scan, license plate number, name of individual, and purpose of monitoring this data. A parking software then references the database and verifies that the license plate is associated with a valid UCSC parking permit.

Before this year, UCSC’s Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) distributed parking permits in the form of plastic hanging tags. This changed in May, when TAPS announced their transition from physical permits to virtual permits using ALPR technology. According to TAPS, the new technology streamlines parking permit processes for permit-holders and TAPS officers, increasing efficiency and effectiveness throughout the permit and ticketing process while reducing printing, postage cost, and plastic and paper waste. 

When the ALPR cameras scan vehicles lacking a parking permit, they don’t just collect the plate’s numbers and letters. According to UC Santa Cruz’s ALPR policy, other information can be stored including the vehicle owner’s name, phone number, state, along with the date, time, and location of the image captured. 

“It is a mass surveillance technology, it collects information on everyone regardless of whether there’s any suspicion that person is involved in a crime,” said Dave Maass, the director of investigations at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a long-running non-profit organization focusing on the rights of civil liberties in the digital world. Maass has spent over 10 years at EFF investigating and writing about surveillance systems, with an emphasis on ALPR systems and police databases.

TAPS can store this information for a maximum of 60 days and may disclose it to the University of California Police Department (UCPD). The storing of data can be extended indefinitely if the information is needed for a formal University investigation. 

Student Awareness

City on a Hill Press reporters asked 22 random students at East Remote Parking Lot a series of questions regarding privacy with TAPS and ALPR. Some students chose to not respond to certain questions.

Most reported that they had a negative experience parking on campus, and do not approve of TAPS sharing information with the police. Many chose not to answer the question regarding ALPR due to a lack of knowledge about the topic. 

“I don’t even know where they’re scanning it or how they’re scanning it,” said Onika Osborne, a fourth-year earth sciences major at UCSC. “I guess I didn’t really think about where that information was going.” 

Zimmer believes an increased quality of parking services is not the priority.

“It is important to question each of these developments, and not resign ourselves to being a campus more invested in AI policing than in free intellectual inquiry,” Zimmer said. “It’s reasonable for the campus community to demand answers to these tough questions given ongoing concerns over lack of transparency.”

Editor’s note: TAPS has not yet disclosed the amount they are spending on this new technology. When City on a Hill Press reporters asked Scott Jason-Hernandez, the assistant vice-chancellor of communications and marketing, about this and other privacy concerns, they were referred to a public records request. 

After submitting a public records request, CHP reporters were informed that UC Santa Cruz’s PRA office was delaying their release of information by 12 weeks, far into spring of 2025.

Additional Reporting by KJ Allemand, and Maria Ralph.