And they might not even know it.

A December 2020 report reveals the extent of this data sharing.

That month, the San Diego Times-Tribune reported that the Chula Vista Police Department was sharing ALPR data with over 800 law enforcement agencies, including ICE.

Chula Vista police chief Chief Roxana Kennedy claimed she didn't know about the data sharing, saying somebody clicked a "share all" button when they set up the system.

"I blame myself," Kennedy said during a meeting with the Community Advisory Committee on Jan. 14. "I didn't even realize that there was ICE and Border Patrol on there."

The city entered into the agreement with Vigilant Solutions in 2017. The city purchased four patrol car-mounted ALPR systems and bought a $10,000 subscription to the company's Law Enforcement Archival Reporting Network.

According to reporting by the Times-Tribune, the department shared the image, location, date and time of each vehicle photographed by the city's ALPRs with over 800 subscribers to the Vigilant system — including federal agencies.

"If they are part of the sharing agreement, they have access," a Chula Vista Police Department spokesperson told the paper.

Vigilant Solutions is owned by Motorola. It is a private company, but it is deeply embedded in the growing national surveillance state. And it's not alone. In late 2019, Rekor Systems announced that they had launched the Rekor Public Safety Network (RPSN) which gives law enforcement real-time access to license plates.