Anchorage, AK

The Anchorage Assembly approved a five-year, $11.8 million technology contract with Axon Enterprise for the Anchorage Police Department. Automated license plate readers were a new capability added under the contract, to be run through existing in-car dash-mounted cameras, alongside live streaming from up to 750 cameras, first-responder drones, real-time body cameras, and stun guns. Assembly Chair Christopher Constant cast the only dissenting vote.

What moved this decision

Bundling of ALPR into a broader Axon body camera, drone and video procurement
APD interest in ALPR dating to 2023 public safety committee discussions
ACLU of Alaska request to table for public input, which the Assembly declined
Assembly Chair Constant’s privacy objection and view that the vote was rushed

What happened afterwards

This is an adoption running against the regional trend, and it shows how ALPR enters a jurisdiction without a standalone ALPR vote: the capability was bundled inside a broad police technology procurement rather than debated on its own. The ACLU of Alaska formally asked the Assembly to table the decision for additional public input and clearer information about the guardrails police would apply, and was unsuccessful. Constant said he felt the vote was rushed given privacy concerns, but after subsequently working out how police would use the technologies he said in an interview he had become more confident the department would prioritize privacy. Anchorage Police had been publicly exploring ALPR since at least October 2023.

What we still don’t know

These are the records we would need to describe this decision completely. If you can help obtain them, or already have them, get in touch.

Full Assembly vote count not established beyond the single dissent
Number of ALPR-equipped vehicles and whether deployment has begun
Whether APD adopted written ALPR guardrails, and their content