San Diego City Council backs the return of smart streetlights

San Diego City Council has voted to authorise the use of smart streetlights, almost three years after they were switched off following a backlash over privacy. The Council also approved the use of automated licence plate readers (ALPR).

In March, the police proposed to re-install 500 smart streetlights with video cameras and add ALPR technology at a cost of US$3.5 million. The new combined technology would replace existing sensors, which can’t be reactivated after maintenance was discontinued.

From 2017 San Diego began installing 3,200 smart streetlights, with stated goals around cost and energy savings and using data to improve parking and traffic management.

The US$30 million project drew controversy over transparency and police access to camera data and in September 2020, then-Mayor Kevin Faulconer ordered the streetlight sensors and cameras to be deactivated until an ordinance was in place governing their use.

The rules were finally passed last year. They require all new and existing surveillance technology to undergo community engagement, be reviewed by a privacy advisory board and approved by the City Council.

The city’s new privacy advisory board recommended rejecting the police department’s proposal to bring smart streetlights back, while the Public Safety Committee voted in favour of it. It was also backed by Mayor Todd Gloria and this week the Council approved it. The vote was seven to two in favour of the smart streetlights and six to three for the ALPR system.

The decision authorises the police department to pursue contracts with vendors, and these contracts would also have to be approved by the Council before the technology can be implemented.

Debate

The smart streetlights have been the source of ongoing debate.

The police department argued that the technology is a “force multiplier” amid staffing challenges and that between August 2018 and September 2020, evidence from the cameras was used in the investigation of hundreds of crimes, including homicides, fatal collisions, serious assaults and looting/civil unrest. Cited benefits included increased conviction rates, reduced investigation costs and a drop in gun violence. The evidence has also been used to exonerate the innocent, the department said.

The department stressed that the cameras would only be used in public spaces “where there is no expectation of privacy” and that they would not include any facial recognition technology. No personally identifiable information is contained in the ALPR and it won’t be used for traffic enforcement or connected to any third party databases, said Acting Captain Charles Lara. Data would be owned by the city and overwritten every 15 days for video and every 30 days for ALPR.

Those who spoke in favour of the technology at the meeting also included people whose family members had been victims of violence.

Opponents raised concerns over privacy and that the tools could disproportionately impact communities of colour. Some also said that changes had been made to use policies and procedures at the last minute and that input from the privacy advisory board and others had not been adequately taken into account.

“What is the point of having an oversight process if it’s going to cut everybody out?”, said Seth Hall, co-founder of the community group San Diego Privacy, a member of the TRUST SD Coalition which helped to shape the city’s surveillance ordinances.

“That is not only a missed opportunity, but it’s frankly a mockery of the hundreds of hours of effort that the community has put into this,” said Lilly Irani, an Associate Professor at UC San Diego and also part of the TRUST SD coalition.

“This is setting a precedent for mistrust in the council, mistrust in these emerging technologies and mistrust in the kinds of planning and design we’re going to be putting into how we build out our city in the future.”

Review

Mayor Todd Gloria said: “It’s the responsibility of local government to keep its residents safe. Smart streetlights and automated licence plate readers will help the San Diego Police Department identify and apprehend suspects in deadly crimes and bring them to justice, making our communities safer.”

All approved surveillance technologies have to be reviewed annually. Last month, San Diego City Council agreed to extend the deadline to review over 300 pieces of existing surveillance technology that are in use by three years.