South City expands surveillance

“Since the program’s inception, the police department has documented 555 Flock-related incidents that have resulted in 147 arrests and dozens of cases being sent to the District Attorney’s Office for arrest warrants and prosecution,” Campbell said.

Many cities throughout the county use ALPRs, and it has often been applied in theft-related crimes.

According to public records data, retail theft arrests in South San Francisco increased from 32 to 51 in 2023, but initial figures from January to August 2024 show it has been declining since. Private property crime arrests seemed on track to decrease in 2024, based on initial data. The city has allocated about $120,000 each year over a two-year period, working with Flock Safety. The city currently has 28 cameras in place and will soon have 44.

The city also recently launched its drone program, used by both the police and fire departments. Fire Capt. Ken Anderson said the equipment is crucial for search and rescue missions and for incidents, such as the four-alarm fire that broke out in a South City warehouse several years ago.

“It would have been great to have a drone up for us to see an aerial view of the collapsed zone or what the status of the roof was,” Anderson said.

Police Lt. Chris Devan said the drones will only be used for specific uses, not for unwarranted surveillance.

“We will not be weaponizing any of our drones, they will not be used to conduct random surveillance activities … and absent a warrant or some sort of exigent circumstance, our drone operators know they are not to intentionally record or transmit images where somebody would have a reasonable expectation of privacy,” Devan said.

Despite the near ubiquity of ALPRs and drone devices, many individuals and watchdog nonprofits have been wary of their application and data-sharing practices.

Police departments are supposed to adhere to strict rules when it comes to sharing license plate data with other states and federal law enforcement agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But more than 70 departments throughout California have been found to violate those rules, according to an investigation from the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation.

At least 10 violations occurred across several Bay Area cities and counties, including Contra Costa and Santa Clara-based agencies. In 2021, Marin County Sheriff Robert Doyle was sued after findings surfaced that his agency was providing ALPR data to hundreds of federal and out-of-state agencies, such as ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a legal memo in 2023 reiterating the ethical uses of ALPR data in response to both advocate concerns and law enforcement pushback, as the latter, in some cases, maintained their right to provide non-California agencies with the data.

Councilmembers unanimously approved the expansion of the ALPR program.