Drones, cameras, trackers: San Diego police disclose list of tech tools used for surveillance, investigations

Months after San Diego police proposed installing hundreds of smart streetlights around the city — and began the process to obtain public input and city approval — the department has released a long list of other surveillance technologies already in use.

Those more than 70 listed items, including drones, car trackers and body-worn cameras, also need to be formally approved.

The Police Department posted the list in order to comply with a new city ordinance that requires all city departments to reveal the types of surveillance technology they possess. The idea behind the ordinance was to create better transparency and protect civil liberties.

Included on the list are 500 smart streetlights and automated license plate readers the department wants to place across the city. Many of the locations are near freeways and along main thoroughfares.

Police had access to a network of more than 3,000 smart streetlights a few years go, but the city cut that access in 2020 when the public found out the streetlights contained cameras that collected data. The revelation sparked public outcry over possible overpolicing, particularly in communities of color.

That prompted San Diego to pass an ordinance forcing police to disclose what surveillance technology they have and any they are trying to obtain.

"We want to make sure that we’re employing tools that we’ve used — would like to think somewhat uncontroversially — for years," said police Lt. Charles Lara, who is overseeing the department's tech approval process.

He said many of the technologies on the list have been in use for decades and "are at the heart of policing in a modern world."

Items on the list include:

Other items include the specialized phone police throw to a suspect during crisis negotiations, and the genetic analyzer that detects DNA profiles extracted from evidence.The department listed several databases officers use to help identify and track data, 911 calls, and evidence. The state's arson and sex offender registries were listed as well.

Last year, the City Council unanimously passed a pair of ordinances that together are dubbed Transparent and Responsible Use of Surveillance Technology, or TRUST.

One ordinance governs technology used by the city, requiring it to be reviewed every year, and through a civil rights lens. The other created the Privacy Advisory Board to offer advice to the City Council.

In addition to disclosing what surveillance items police have or want to buy, the department has to present and explain each item at public meetings in each of the nine City Council districts.

It's not clear when those meetings will happen, but they must happen soon. The Privacy Advisory Board is supposed to review the items within a year of the surveillance ordinance going into effect — which means September. And the public meetings must happen before the Privacy Advisory Board can review the technology.

Seth Hall, a member of a watchdog coalition monitoring police surveillance, helped craft the ordinance. He said the idea is to "truly inform and engage with each community" so people know what technology police have and how it might impact their life.

He said the coalition "believes that the surveillance technologies are incredibly personal … They collect information about each and every person's life who is caught up with them."

"What the TRUST Coalition and the City Council wants for San Diegans is a genuine opportunity to have a seat at the table," said Hall.

Hall noted than San Diego police have drones made by DJI, a Chinese manufacturer said to be the world's largest maker of unmanned aerial vehicles. Several policing agencies across the country use DJI drones. Concerns about spying sparked a push to ban the use of Chinese-made drones, as Florida did in 2021. Currently there is a bipartisan Senate bill seeking to ban purchase of drones made in countries identified as national security threats, including China.

Hall said last week that he is worried about items not on the list, such as the Shot Spotter technology — to detect gunfire — that drew controversy when it was installed, particularly in communities of color. He said the hardware remains installed and in place in San Diego. Police said they have not used it in years.

After the TRUST ordinance became law, San Diego police stepped forward with a request to install the smart streetlights again. They also want to add license plate readers to the streetlights.

The $4 million project would make San Diego the biggest U.S. city to use cameras and plate readers as part of a single network.

The police bid to use the overhead cameras is still in the works. It's been a lengthy process, with public meetings starting in March followed by a trip to the Privacy Advisory Board last week, where public comments largely skewed against the plan. The same was true for earlier public meetings. Video from one meeting drew nearly 400 comments — with more than 80 percent opposed.

At last week's Privacy Advisory Board meeting, San Diego resident Ruben Cabrera said he was worried that police may abuse technology like license plate readers, fearing they would be used to unfairly target communities of color.

"I’m a grown man ... but if I’m at a stoplight right now and there's law enforcement right behind me, my stomach is turning wondering if I’m going to be made an example today," Cabrera said.

San Diego resident Muslah Abdul-Hafeez said the community needs to invest into youth, especially in Black and Brown communities.

"But the way these cameras are set up, they saturate the communities of color … and are designed to target people of color," Abdul-Hafeez said.

Many of the Zoom callers raised privacy concerns, including one — who did not provide her whole name — who compared the program to the book "1984."

"It paves the way for totalitarianism," she said. "And I don't consent to any of it."

Catharine Douglass was one of a handful of people at the meeting that were in favor of the cameras. Douglass, who chairs the La Jolla Town Council Public Safety Committee, said the cameras would not be used for immigration purposes and would not record private property. She said her committee supported the program because it would help solve the most violent crimes,

"I want these crimes solved quickly and fairly, and so do the victims and their families," Douglass said. She later added: "Anyone adverse to smart streetlights and license plate readers is either aiding and abetting criminal activity, or has failed to do their research to truly understand how, when, where, and why this technology is used."

Police say they are developing policies and procedures meant to prevent "false positives" and misuse of the technology, and outlining disciplinary actions for anyone who violates those policies. The department would also limit who can access the technology and audit those who do have access, according to a city memorandum dated May 25.

The Police Department said its proposal does not include audio detection or recording, counting vehicles or pedestrians impacting traffic, documenting near collisions, monitoring of "unusual behaviors" or facial recognition, according to the memo. If that were to change, the department would have to make a formal request and go back to the Privacy Advisory Board for review.

Video data recorded by the cameras would be destroyed every 15 days, unless it gets pulled to use in an investigation.

The 500 smart streetlights will be installed throughout the city in all council districts, the department said. Locations were selected based on crime data — particularly violent crime and incidents in which a gun was used — and information provided by the department's homicide, robbery and sex crime units.