How use is governed

Rules & retention

The rules Prescott wrote for itself — and their gaps. Policy 428 lets officers search the system without reasonable suspicion or probable cause, leans on audits that 'should' happen, and leaves key safeguards to a procedure that was still only a draft. Here is what it says, sourced to the policy record.

Last updated July 2026

Read Policy 428 (PDF)

Prescott Police Department Policy 428

Use of the system is governed by Policy 428 (Policy 428 (DOC-000475)). In summary:

Use is limited to official and legitimate law-enforcement business.
The policy says reasonable suspicion or probable cause is not required before an ALPR search.
Users must complete department-approved training.
Alerts should be verified through ALETS when practicable before enforcement action based only on an ALPR alert.
Access is password protected and logged by user, date, and time.
Data may be released to verified law-enforcement officials for legitimate law-enforcement purposes.
Regular audits “should” be conducted.
Non-law-enforcement requests go through the Records Supervisor.
Evidence or data subject to a lawful preservation requirement may be kept longer.

December 2025 draft ALPR procedure (draft — not adopted)

Clearly labeled as a draft. These provisions are proposed, not confirmed adopted: draft ALPR procedure (DOC-000474)

Searches require an employee identifier and a department-report or CAD incident number.
Misuse can lead to loss of access, discipline, or termination.
Officers must remove stale custom hot-list entries.
Supervisors review entries quarterly.
The draft calls for monthly official audits of custom hot lists.