Reading Wisconsin State Patrol's March 2025 ALPR policy

Alert confirmation before a stop

Wisconsin State Patrol policy 4-3 is dated March 7, 2025. Section 5.A.4 says an alert by itself does not constitute reasonable suspicion for a traffic stop and directs the officer to confirm alerts and establish reasonable suspicion. Section 6.C.2 describes either independent grounds or confirmation against vehicle information and current wanted status before contact. These are written requirements, not evidence of compliance in any particular stop. [1]

Access, sharing and stated exceptions

Except as provided by law, section 6.A.4 limits historical-data access to sworn State Patrol personnel for legitimate and authorized law-enforcement purposes. Section 6.A.5 generally requires permission from the Bureau of Field Operations director or designee before sharing outside the Division. Section 6.A.6 then lists exceptions involving prosecuting attorneys, other law-enforcement agencies, court orders, and coordinated open-records responses. The policy therefore describes a qualified rule, not a ban on all outside sharing. [1]

Retention points to records schedules

Section 6.A.3 says ALPR data must be retained under the approved State Patrol Field Operations records schedule. The references page names RDA 000942-000 for investigation case files and RDA 000943-000 for routine ALPR reads. The policy does not supply a numeric retention period for routine reads; that period is not established here. Its separate 30-day custom-hotlist expiration field should not be substituted for data retention. [1]

Documentation and audit scope

Section 6.B.2 requires investigative searches of historical ALPR data to be documented in an eSP4500 report. Section 6.F.1 requires the Division coordinator or designee to audit authorized custom hotlists quarterly for compliance with the custom-hotlist requirements. That quarterly provision concerns custom hotlists, not every search, and the written requirement is not evidence that an audit occurred. [1]

How to use this policy as a comparison point

A reader can compare local policies against five questions raised by this State Patrol document: how alerts are confirmed, who may search historical data, when outside sharing is permitted, what retention authority is cited, and what activity is documented or audited. Policy 4-3 governs the Division of State Patrol; it does not govern every Wisconsin agency. This report does not establish the retention periods under those schedules, later policy revisions, or whether the required audits occurred. [1]

Sources

1. Wisconsin State Patrol policy and procedure 4-3, Automated License Plate Recognition SystemsPDF pp. 4-5 and 7-9, sections 5.A.4, 6.A.3-6, 6.B.2, 6.C.2, 6.F.1 and referencesSource URL: https://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/dsp/policy/pp4-3-alpr.pdf