More license plate readers will be added to parts of San Diego County

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office will add about 60 or more license plate cameras in rural areas of the county as well as unincorporated areas.

County Sheriff Kelly Martinez and Captain Christopher Lawrence presented in front of the County Board of Supervisors Tuesday who favored the program.

“We have already solved murders, we have solved burglary sprees, we reunited a child that was involved in a parental abduction case, we've caught several child molesters, we’ve shown a lot of success so far,” said Cpt. Christopher Lawrence.

The sheriff’s office currently has 63 readers up and running in five cities: Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Poway and San Marcos. Deputies call it a force multiplier allowing them to have more eyes and ears on the roads to protect citizens. Now, more parts of the county will have them including Alpine and Fallbrook.  

“In communities such as Alpine, Valley Center, Fallbrook, Spring Valley, Rancho San Diego, and our rural areas like Borrego Springs, Campo, Boulevard, those areas,” Lawrence said.

The new license plate cameras will likely be added to those areas later this year or by early 2025.

Meanwhile some residents worry this infringes on their privacy.

“I’m not sure how I necessarily feel about them scanning all license plates, but I think it could be a good idea to catch potentially vehicles that have warrants or anything on them,” resident Aaron Cryan said.

“I think it’s good, but like anything good, it can be used for bad,” another resident said.

The sheriff’s office says data won’t be stored past 30 days unless used in an investigation and that only deputies and analysts have access to the information.