Voice of OC ran an opinion piece by Michael Martinez on September 3, 2026. The piece argues that Brea's license plate reader program needs more public oversight. Martinez writes that the Brea Police Department has begun installing readers throughout the city as part of its Integrated Crime Center initiative.
Voice of OC labels the piece a community opinion. The views are Martinez's, not the newsroom's, the page says.
How many license plate readers does Brea have?
Martinez cites 27 current cameras, using a City of Brea web page as his source. He includes a map of their placement in the piece.
Who can search Brea's plate reader data?
Martinez writes that Brea's policy does not require a warrant for police to search the database. He says police can search it without an assigned case number, unlike other agencies. He asks who has access, how many agencies can search the data, how often it is accessed and what safeguards prevent misuse. "Residents should not have to guess," he writes.
How long does Brea keep plate reader data?
Martinez compares Brea with San Diego, Culver City and San Jose, which he says automatically delete plate reader records after 30 days. He says Brea's police policy manual sets a minimum storage period of one year, with no specific deletion date. If that is accurate, he writes, the city is creating a permanent database of the movements of residents who are not suspected of a crime.
Martinez also argues that the program raises Fourth Amendment questions. He cites the Supreme Court's 2018 decision in Carpenter v. United States, which he says recognized that prolonged electronic surveillance can reveal an "intimate window" into a person's private life. He says he does not oppose police using the technology.
What changes for drivers in Brea?
The piece does not change anything about how Brea's cameras work. It asks the City Council to act. Martinez wants the council to set a limit on how long plate data is kept, run regular independent audits, publish annual transparency reports, disclose which agencies can access the database and require a documented reason for every search.
Martinez says Denver, Mountain View and Santa Cruz have ended their programs and removed their cameras. The piece does not describe any council action on his requests, and it does not give a date for a council vote.
Cameras run by a neighboring city, the county, the state, a business or an HOA are not part of Brea's program, and the piece does not mention them. To see what is mapped near you, check the camera map. For background on how these systems work, read how plate readers work.