SUNSET MESA PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION (SMPOA)

AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE RECOGNITION (ALPR) USAGE AND PRIVACY POLICY

Effective Date: July 16, 2026

Last Updated: July 16, 2026

The Sunset Mesa Property Owners Association ("SMPOA") utilizes an Automated License Plate Recognition ("ALPR") system manufactured, serviced, and hosted by Flock Group Inc. ("Flock Safety"). SMPOA is committed to protecting the privacy, civil liberties, and security of our residents, guests, and the general public.

This policy is established in strict accordance with California Civil Code § 1798.90.5 et seq. (Senate Bill 34) to govern the use, operation, access, security, and retention of ALPR data collected at the main access point to the Sunset Mesa neighborhood.

1. Purpose of the ALPR System

The sole, authorized purposes of the SMPOA ALPR system are:

  • Community Security and Crime Prevention: To enhance the safety of the Sunset Mesa residential area by deterring unauthorized entry, vandalism, theft, or other criminal activities.

  • Law Enforcement Assistance: To assist local law enforcement, specifically the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), in active investigations of crimes committed within or adjacent to Sunset Mesa, or in locating stolen, missing, or wanted vehicles.

The ALPR system is strictly prohibited from being used for personal tracking, commercial marketing, resident behavioral monitoring, or any other unauthorized administrative or punitive HOA purposes.

2. Camera Location and Scope

  • Location: The physical ALPR camera is situated on private residential property (via formal agreement with the property owner) along the primary access road used by all vehicles entering and exiting the Sunset Mesa residential area.

  • Capture Scope: The camera is positioned exclusively to capture images of rear license plates and vehicle characteristics of traffic utilizing the main access road. It does not target private driveways, residential windows, or non-vehicular pedestrian spaces.

3. Access, Oversight, and Training Requirements

Access to the ALPR management system is strictly limited to prevent unauthorized viewing of data:

  • Oversight and Administration: The President of the SMPOA serves as the designated ALPR Administrator.

  • Restricted User Access: Currently, only one (1) individual—the SMPOA President—holds active administrative login credentials to access the system portal. No other board members, residents, or property management staff have system access.

  • Password/Credential Security: The Administrator strictly maintains the secrecy of the system password. Sharing credentials or using "auto-fill" features on shared devices is strictly prohibited.

  • Training: The Administrator has completed the necessary operational and privacy training provided by the ALPR vendor (Flock Safety) to ensure compliance with California privacy laws and security standards.

4. System Monitoring and Auditing

To ensure the system is only accessed for authorized security or law enforcement purposes:

  • Login Auditing: The Flock Safety platform maintains an immutable, digital electronic log of every login, search query, and data export.

  • Internal Compliance Check: The SMPOA President will review the system logs at least once annually to verify that no unauthorized searches or data exports have occurred.

5. Data Sharing, Access, and Accuracy Controls

  • No Local Storage: SMPOA does not download, store, or maintain any photographs of vehicles, license plate data, or system content on any local SMPOA computers, hard drives, or physical servers. All data remains securely in the vendor's cloud environment.

  • Direct Law Enforcement Integration: The LASD has automatic, direct, and designated virtual access to the photos and metadata captured by the camera. Following a reported crime in Sunset Mesa, LASD personnel can independently access the Flock Safety database to gather evidence and investigative leads. SMPOA administration does not manually pull, edit, or filter images for law enforcement.

  • Third-Party Sharing: SMPOA does not share, sell, lease, or otherwise distribute ALPR data to any other private entities, commercial businesses, or individuals.

  • Accuracy Controls: Plate recognition is managed by Flock Safety’s machine learning algorithms. In the event of a "false positive" or reading error, the system relies on visual confirmation (the associated photographic image of the vehicle) to verify accuracy.

6. Security Procedures and Practices

SMPOA relies on a multi-layered approach to safeguard the integrity of the collected data:

  • Vendor Security Protocols: All data captured by the camera is encrypted in transit and at rest using modern, industry-standard AES-256 encryption protocols managed by Flock Safety.

  • Physical Security: The physical camera hardware is securely mounted on-site to deter physical tampering or theft.

  • Access Breach Protocol: In the event of suspected unauthorized access to the administrator credentials, the password will be changed immediately, and Flock Safety will be notified to review access logs for potential data exposure.

7. Data Retention and Destruction

  • 30-Day Limit: All ALPR data (images and read metadata) is automatically deleted and permanently overwritten after thirty (30) days on a rolling basis, in alignment with Flock Safety's default retention policy, unless the data is actively preserved for an ongoing law enforcement investigation.

  • Method of Destruction: Data is digitally destroyed and rendered unrecoverable via Flock Safety’s secure cloud deletion processes.