A San Diego City Council committee will consider Wednesday whether to adopt a resolution to end the police department’s use of automatic license plate readers citywide.
The resolution titled “Rescind ALPR use policy,” is proposed by councilmember Henry Foster III in response to widespread backlash against Flock Safety, the company that administers the city’s license plate reader program.
If passed, Foster’s proposal calls for the termination of the city’s contract with Flock Safety, and for the city to delete all stored data along with it.
Ultimately, it calls on SDPD to do away with its current policy for using ALPRs, effectively prohibiting the technology.
This doesn’t take ALPRs off of the table in the future. Rather, the city would need to treat any proposal for a new vendor of ALPRs as a completely new technology, completing an entire Privacy Advisory Board review and going through council approval.
In the resolution, local incidents are cited as to why the city should end its relationship with Flock, including the wrongful arrest of two men, as first reported by Times of San Diego, who are now suing the city, and a mistaken breach of data that allowed other agencies to access San Diego Police Department’s network.
On Sept. 30, the ACLU Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties filed a lawsuit against the city of San Diego, claiming the technology violates the California Constitution’s stated right to privacy and is asking a court to compel the city to terminate its contract with Flock.
The option of cancelling the city’s contract with Flock was most recently on the table in June during budget discussions. At that time, Foster, alongside council members Sean Elo-Rivera, Vivian Moreno and Kent Lee unsuccessfully voted to do so.
But now, another councilmember has landed on their side of the aisle, creating a council majority in favor of cancelling the contract.
Stephen Whitburn’s first sign of vocal opposition to Flock came last week at a press conference. He framed it through his increasing concern of the federal government’s use of the tech for immigration enforcement.
“I want public safety tools that help San Diegans feel safe,” Whitburn said. “If Flock cameras are causing many San Diegans to feel unsafe, then they have lost effectiveness as a public safety tool.”
His support could potentially tip the scale toward a successful vote if the other four council members who voted to terminate the contract in June stay on that side of the aisle.
Despite this new council majority, Mayor Todd Gloria could veto the resolution. Gloria is a vocal proponent of the technology and has doubled down on his support for it in recent weeks. On the same day Whitburn changed course, signaling he would vote to remove the technology, Gloria released a statement asserting it is a necessary tool.
“Keeping San Diegans safe is my highest responsibility as Mayor. Automated license plate readers have assisted in nearly 900 criminal investigations and allowed San Diegans to recover over $8.7 million in stolen property. The results speak for themselves.
“Public safety and privacy are not mutually exclusive. We can give our police officers effective tools while holding their use to rigorous standards. Where improvements are needed, we should make them, and we hold our technology providers accountable.”
The Budget and Government Efficiency Committee will discuss the item Wednesday, Oct. 21.
