Sheriff’s office updates board on ALPR, DRE MOUs and Commerce camera software review; executive session called on security details

The Thurston County sheriff’s office briefed commissioners Jan. 13 on two memoranda of understanding: an updated MOU with the Washington State Patrol for license plate reader (ALPR) data sharing and a separate MOU with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission to enable overtime billing for a newly trained drug recognition expert (DRE).

Sheriff's office staff described the WSP MOU as an update clarifying best practices for ALPR data handling and ‘‘how we maintain our relationship with the state,’’ and said the county does not currently own ALPR equipment but requests data from other agencies when needed. The sheriff’s office said the MOU covers any technology that reads a plate — both mobile and stationary systems — and flagged that newer systems can capture vehicle characteristics beyond plates.

Commissioner Klaus asked whether AI-capable ALPR systems (which can collect vehicle characteristics and other analytics) would fall under the MOU; sheriff’s staff replied the MOU covers any ALPR system and that AI-enabled features would be included if they read license plates or feed the state-access database.

On the Traffic Safety Commission MOU, sheriff’s staff said the county’s DRE has completed training and that the MOU provides a way to bill for overtime when responding to allied-agency requests; staff emphasized DRE observations are part of larger investigations and not, by themselves, sufficient for conviction without scientific evidence such as blood tests.

Separately, auditors and staff discussed an interlocal agreement with the Washington State Department of Commerce to purchase camera software. Because discussion of specific system capabilities and vulnerabilities could raise security risks, the board moved into executive session under RCW exemptions for infrastructure and legal matters; the chair called the closed session, estimated 15 minutes, and then reconvened the public meeting. After executive sessions, the board noted no legislative action followed immediately and planned to revisit related items with auditors present.

What to watch: Commissioners asked for the 2009 contract referenced in the MOU and said they prefer presentation as a department item for deeper discussion. The county will return to the public agenda with detailed information once security-sensitive specifics are handled in executive session.