By Mary O’KEEFE

Shoppers at Ralphs Market may have missed it – a sign placed on the side of the cart return corral that states, “Attention. We use Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) technology to collect license plate information for security purposes….”

If a vehicle is parked at the side of the corral the sign is easy to miss; however, it is posted and it does have a QR code that leads to a website that explains why Kroger/Ralphs is using this technology. This policy appears to have been implemented in June. 

The privacy policy states: “At the Kroger Family of Companies (‘Kroger,’ ‘we,’ ‘us,’ ‘our’) your safety and trust are important to us. For that reason, we are committed to handling your information in a way that is transparent, fair and worthy of your trust. This Automated License Plate Recognition (‘ALPR’) Usage and Privacy Policy describes how we use, maintain and disclose information collected by ALPR technology at select retail locations in California.”

The site continues to state the ALPR system is a “searchable computerized database resulting from the operation of one or more fixed cameras combined with computer algorithms to read and covert images of license plates and the characters they contain into computer readable data.”

The information includes images of vehicles including the vehicles’ make, model, color and license plate. The reason this security system is needed, according to the company, is to enhance safety and security, to prevent, investigate and prosecute shoplifting, fraud and other crimes and for “internal business purposes such as risk management, investigations, reporting and other legal and compliance reasons.”

It also states that the people who will be gathering this information are trained on being sensitive with the data. They add the information is not sold or transferred  outside the Kroger company with a couple of exceptions:

• “To provide service providers with ALPR Information in connection with their performance of services on our behalf; however, these companies are prohibited from using ALPR Information for purposes other than those requested by us or required by law;
• We may share information with third parties, such as law enforcement and other businesses, when reasonably necessary to ensure the safety and security of our customers, associates or the general public; to protect the rights and property of our customers, associates, the public, and other businesses; to comply with legal requirements; or if disclosure is required by law.”

The information/data is kept for as long as “reasonably necessary,” according to the Kroger website. 

There are some other changes at Ralphs market, including the La Crescenta location. It has isolated aisles that contain some medication and detergent. These must be purchased separately from the general check-out areas. This is also to combat shoplifting, according to the company.

CVW has reached out numerous times to Kroger/Food4Less/Ralphs for a comment but, as of press time, there has been no response.