Data Import: Santa Cruz, CA

The latest batch from Santa Cruz comes to us courtesy of Syd.

Go check out Syd’s work over on BlueSky.

This is an exciting dataset, as it’s the first one from California. Since 2016, California’s Senate Bill 34 has prohibited agencies from sharing data with out-of-state agencies.

After that law had been in effect for six years, the California attorney general took notice and declared that sharing ALPR data with out-of-state agencies was illegal. Police, of course, continued to ignore the law. Why not?

So, although California may have finally shut the barn doors, the horses have long bolted, raised families, learned to play the flute, and died of old age. After years of illegal operation, the cameras remain on California roads, sending Californians’ movements to places like Georgia and the Phillipines, and into national sharing centers.

To ensure that will continue without interruption, Governor Newsom vetoed a bill that would require more effective oversight in 2025, blaming his decision, in large part, on the “hostile federal government.” You couldn’t make this up if you tried.

Anyway. These new records shed a little bit more light on California’s inter- and intrastate search volumes over the past year.

As you can see, there is a steep cliff to nearly-zero out-of-state sharing in February/March of 2025, almost immediately after Donald Trump took office. This insular system lines up with how California appears on the current footage sharing map.

The other steep drop-off is in August 2025. Search volume appears to have dropped by 75% that month, and further decreasing after.

It does not appear to be an import issue; the original files from Santa Cruz simply decrease from 35MiB in July to 15MiB in August, and, I’m told, the same pattern appears in other agencies’ logs.

It could be because police are using the system less, or because they’ve stopped pulling long-term, statewide histories for minor crimes, but, well … that seems like wishful thinking.

If I find out what’s going on, I’ll update this post (or make a new one, if the findings are noteworthy).

If you figure it out before I do, share your findings!

Unfortunately, Santa Cruz did redact the license plates. Sorry Californians. You must be an unvetted foreign Upwork contractor to be entrusted with that type of sensitive information.

Also, please stand by as we work on better downloads for source records to make verification easier. In the meantime, do reach out if you have any questions or concerns.