Hayden intends to take a closer look at technology designed to take a closer look at drivers.

Hayden City Council members on Tuesday discussed considering formal policies governing automated license plate readers, including cameras operated by both government and private entities. A workshop to discuss the issue is tentatively scheduled in January.

The main questions at hand were who has access to information gathered by ALPRs, how long it should be retained and whether it can be shared or sold.

"When you look at Hayden, there are zero city-operated ALPR cameras," Councilman David Erickson said. "We are at an inflection point where we have the ability to put together something that will protect the people who live in Hayden from what I believe is a huge potential risk for surveillance that infringes on our rights for privacy."

Erickson said Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Spokane County on the other side of the Idaho/Washington border have all installed the technology.

Councilman Tom Shafer expressed concern about cameras being installed on private property. This could potentially allow companies using ALPRs to collect information without city oversight.

“I would like to see Hayden join the list of municipalities that say we are not going to allow these types of abuses to exist within our municipality,” Shafer said. “In some cases, the governing municipality instructed the operator to remove the cameras, and then later found out that they were reinstalled without their knowledge.”

The discussion also highlighted some safety benefits to the cameras. Councilman Matt Roetter shared a story of his father-in-law with dementia who had driven away from home. Although license plate readers did not find his car, it helped narrow the search.

"I think that license plate readers have a place," Roetter said. "Now, where I have concerns is who has them."

He asked whether the increased public safety measures justified the potential of losing the public’s trust by taking their information.

“There's no question you can find more crime, but at what cost?” Roetter said.

Councilman Ed DePriest said questions about legal authority to restrict camera use on private property or public easements should be central to the planned workshop.

“Who's to say that an entity or law enforcement can't go to the corner property owner and say, ‘I'd like to put this camera up on your property and point it at the intersection,’" DePriest said.

No ordinance was adopted during the meeting, but the city of Hayden is ready to take measures against ALPRs surveilling drivers.

“This issue is very important and it's only going to get worse as technology improves,” Shafer said. “Things can get out of hand very quickly, so I think it's very important to workshop this and to run what we discuss past legal to make sure we try to keep things as airtight as possible for our city.”