Medina, Washington
In 2009, Medina installed cameras at intersections along roads entering the city; the cameras are used to capture the license plate number of every car, and a security system automatically notifies local police if the captured number is recorded in a database.[11] Travelers are notified of the presence of the system with signs that read “You Are Entering a 24 Hour Video Surveillance Area”; according to Medina’s police chief, all captured information is stored for 60 days even if nothing negative is found in the database, allowing police to mine data if a crime occurs later.[11] One of the city’s council members said the system was motivated by the belief that the need for crime prevention—Medina had 11 burglaries in 2008—”outweighs concern over privacy.”[11]