Concerns about the city of Sedona’s installation of 12 automatic license plate readers throughout the city has caught the attention of Judicial Watch, a nationwide conservative nonpartisan nonprofit that files Freedom of Information Act and public records lawsuits to investigate claims of misconduct by governments and officials.

Judicial Watch Southwest Projects Coordinator Mark Spencer said his organization was independently contacted by numerous Sedona residents after the NEWS published the article “Sedona to residents: We’re tracking you” and the editorial “City of Sedona’s spy cameras are a threat to our privacy and rights” on June 20.

“It’s a very Big Brother-oriented move by the city of Sedona,” Spencer said of the city’s cameras, which are manufactured and maintained by Flock Safety, a for-profit surveillance company that is building an integrated nationwide mass surveillance system with ALPR data in more than 5,000 communities across the country, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. As a private corporation, Flock Safety is not subject to public records laws.

Judicial Watch’s public records request to the city on July 14 specifically mentioned the NEWS editorial, included a screenshot and quoted from the editorial that the city installed ALPR cameras “without any public discussion other than brief comments made during budget meetings this spring and then installed the [ALPR] cameras without any warning or public notice. There were no public meetings. No mailers sent out to residents. No public debates. No notices sent to or published ….”

“There seems to be a real aversion in Sedona for public accountability and transparency, almost as if the last thing we want to do is let the public get involved and let them tell us how they want their tax money spent,” Spencer said July 15. “That’s a consistent concern that Judicial Watch is hearing, not only from citizens in Sedona, but from around the country. It’s almost as if taxpayers should pay the bill, but we’re going to spend the money and do what we want without your input and/or permission.”

“The city will respond to the records request we received from Judicial Watch in a timely manner,” Sedona City Manager Anette Spickard said on July 15.

Judicial Watch is requesting:

• City documents regarding the ALPR cameras, including private vendor purchase, service, installation, and/or monitoring contracts, memorandum of understanding or agreements
• Procurement methods like requests for proposal and invitations to bid
• Line-item budget amounts
• Notices to the public regarding Sedona City Council, public discussions or voting processes prior to and pertaining to the installation and purchasing of ALPRs
• City policies, rules, charters or ordinances that mandate public notice, presentation or discussion of law enforcement or traffic control enforcement systems, equipment and enforcement actions
• Sedona Police Department and municipal court policies, orders and procedures
• Documents addressing conflict of interest
• Sedona City Attorney documents, legal counsel and communications to council and SPD regarding the lawfulness of ALPRs camera systems in compliance with Arizona Revised Statute §28-1593
• Various documents regarding the use of ALPRs for traffic violations

“I think there needs to be public input, because as a former police officer, I can see this license plate reader issue cutting both ways,” Spencer said. “It is a very useful tool for law enforcement, but useful tools can be misused, and when I say misused, it can be misused abusively or in violation of the public’s rights. There needs to be real caution and accountability.”

Spencer was a board member of Phoenix Law Enforcement Association and its president from 2007 until 2011 before he retired in 2012. He has been an adjunct faculty member at five Phoenix area community colleges and serves as the chaplain of the National Border Patrol Council.

Residents “have every right to be upset,” Spencer said. “As a former city of Phoenix police officer for 25 years and the president of PLEA, I despised photo enforcement,” Spencer said. “It’s all about the money for the city on the backs of the taxpayers.”

Spickard said Sedona City Council will hold a work session on ALPRs on Wednesday, Aug. 13, but did not know yet if the meeting would have a call to the public. The system will not be utilized until after the council work session.

The city’s Facebook post on June 12 stated that camera “locations will not be disclosed due to operational and security considerations.”

However, thanks to readers, the NEWS has located 11 of the 12 known ALPRs:

• Dry Creek Road and Garnet Hill Drive
• Dry Creek Road and Thunder Mountain Road
• Sanborn Drive and Rodeo Drive
• Jordan roundabout on State Route 89A
• North of Owenby Way entering Sedona from Oak Creek Canyon with the reader facing southbound traffic
• Just west of Airport Road, with the reader facing westbound traffic
• Immediately north of Natural Grocers with the reader facing eastbound traffic
• On State Route 179, outside Sedona United Methodist Church, facing northbound traffic
• On State Route 179 south of Arrow Drive, facing southbound traffic
• On State Route 89A north of Sedona Red Rock High School, facing eastbound traffic
• On State Route 89A at the bus stop west of Dry Creek Road, facing westbound traffic

A map of the known cameras in Sedona can be found at the deflock.me website.