Alexandria police still haven’t decided who will review their license plate reader audits

Updated 4:15 p.m. Oct. 21 with comments from Councilman Abdel Elnoubi.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Three weeks after telling City Council that the city's Independent Policing Auditor "could potentially" review its license plate reader audits, the Alexandria Police Department said Wednesday it has not decided whether that office, vacant since Oct. 3, or the city's Office of Internal Audit will have a role.

The department maintains that state law does not allow a traditional outside audit. Asked who outside the department reviews its audits now, it did not name anyone.

Its answer came two days after the National Policing Institute released a national survey finding that independent audits are the safeguard most likely to raise public confidence in police license plate readers.

The institute, an Arlington research nonprofit that has worked with police agencies since 1970, surveyed 1,435 adults in September through an opt-in online panel weighted to census figures. It does not report a margin of error.