COEUR d’ALENE — Idaho was one of just three states that enacted laws this session to establish or amend rules for law enforcement agencies using automated license plate readers.

Law enforcement agencies have used automated license plate reader technology for more than 20 years, according to the Idaho Capital Sun, and the technology’s popularity is growing nationwide. Lawmakers in at least 16 states introduced bills to automate the technology’s use this year, though Idaho, Arkansas and Virginia were the only states to enact such laws. 

The city of Coeur d’Alene has utilized stationary automated license plate readers for more than a decade, Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said Tuesday, as have other area law enforcement agencies. 

“For us, it’s really a crime-solving tool,” he said. “We’ve solved everything from murder cases to hit-and-run investigations.” 

White described a case in which an adult had groomed a 14-year-old girl and brought her from her home state to North Idaho. Within Coeur d’Alene city limits, stationary automated license plate readers picked up the adult driver’s plates and enabled law enforcement to locate the vehicle. 

“We got that girl back to her family,” White said. 

White said that case, while an extreme example, illustrates what automated license plate reader technology can help police to achieve. 

“It keeps the community safer and it helps us solve crimes,” he said. 

A new section of Idaho code, approved by legislators and signed into law this year, requires that access to automated license plate reader data be limited to an agency’s authorized personnel and that such data “shall not be used for any non-law enforcement purpose.” 

Such requirements already existed within city policy, White said. 

“We have to have a legitimate law enforcement purpose to retrieve the data from these license plate readers,” he said. “We can’t just search out of curiosity for non-law enforcement purposes.” 

Last December, Kootenai County commissioners voted 2-1 to approve a one-year contract with Motorola for automated license plate reader software to be used in 48 sheriff’s office patrol vehicles. 

At that time, some community members expressed concern about privacy rights and surveillance, while several retired law enforcement officers spoke in favor about the technology, citing instances when license plate data helped them investigate crime. 

In July, despite the urging of Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris to extend the contract, commissioners declined to budget the $24,000 it would cost to renew the contract for fiscal year 2026. The Motorola contract is expected to expire at the end of the year. 

In 2023, the Coeur d'Alene City Council approved funding for seven license plate reader cameras and related hardware.

Police use them at several primary intersections around town chosen "due to traffic patterns and crime analytics," according to the report.

Stationary sites allow for a higher number of reads, recognition and hits in the event of criminal activity, a staff report said.