Streetlight cameras in San Diego have been off-limits to police for three years. But the City Council Monday said they’d allow police to start using them again to capture video that could be used in investigations.
The council voted 7-2 to approve the plan. Mayor Todd Gloria is expected to sign the measure and voiced his approval shortly after the vote.
The City Council approved the use of Automated License Plate Readers and Smart Streetlights to help @SanDiegoPD solve crimes.
— San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria (@MayorToddGloria) August 2, 2023
This vote will help keep San Diego one of the safest big cities in the country. #ForAllofUs pic.twitter.com/8w0SlEpEr8
The question of streetlight cameras use by the police has pitted privacy rights advocates against those who see the cameras as a vital crime-fighting tool.
There are already streetlights around San Diego that are equipped with cameras that can record movements beneath and around them. Councilmember Vivian Moreno argued in support of the police plan, by mentioning the murder of a woman in 2019 at a Church’s Chicken in Otay Mesa.
"Without the footage from the streetlight cameras it would have been impossible for SDPD to solve the crime. And this is just one example but there are many others that also demonstrate that this technology has a critical role to play in solving crimes," Moreno said.
San Diego police say they’re a valuable asset to detect and deter crime.
But in the latter part of the past decade opposition rose up against them, causing Mayor Kevin Faulconer to order police to stop using the cameras in 2020.
The city has heard from San Diegans several times on the issue, as they took public testimony in earlier City Council committee meetings and during Monday’s City Council meeting. Speakers at those events were overwhelmingly opposed to the plan.
Police and those who support the cameras say there is no reasonable expectation of privacy on a public street. But others argue these cameras are able to peer into private spaces and can be programmed to follow citizens.
Many people simply don’t trust the police to use the cameras in the public’s interest. Some people from low income neighborhoods told the council that they, not criminals, will be the ones being watched.
"I don't feel that I can go back to the folks in my community and say, 'Don't worry. This data and this technology is in good hands,'" San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera said. “It’s not a slight at SDPD. There are too many unanswered questions here.”
Along with Elo-Rivera, Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe also opposed the plan. Both council members represent racially diverse council districts in the central city.
The San Diego police say they want to use 1,000 cameras in 500 places and their locations are on a map, available on the police department’s website.
