By Teri Figueroa / San Diego Union-Tribune / December 9, 2025
A split San Diego City Council voted Tuesday to approve policies regarding several police technology tools, including its controversial network of automated license plate readers.
The vote came as the council reviewed 54 surveillance technologies that police use, which also include cameras officers wear on their uniforms, SWAT robots and other tactical equipment, and cameras on streetlight poles.
The council split 5-3 to approve policies related to the continued use of automated license plate readers, with one councilmember absent.
The license plate readers, from provider Flock, emerged as the most polarizing. Police praise them as crime-fighting tools, while opponents fear they provide mass surveillance and endanger communities rather than protecting them — particularly amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
“Given the current federal administration, these systems pose a risk of misuse, and their impact on my communities can be very significant,” Councilmember Vivian Moreno said.
Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera spoke of the loss of trust in using the technology. “Entire communities are being given legitimate reason to fear their own government, and that fear grows by the day. … But we can mitigate it, and we can do things to not make them feel even more scared,” he said.
Councilmember Marni von Wilpert listed several cases in which the plate readers helped solve crimes. “I cannot, in good conscience, take away a factual, evidential tool to prevent crimes and keep San Diegans safe on the theoretical possibility that this government — which is doing atrocious things, I agree — could access our data,” she said.
San Diego’s network consists of about 500 surveillance cameras and automated license plate reader technology on streetlights throughout the city. The readers capture license plates of vehicles in their view, as well as time, date and location. Data is deleted after 30 days, unless it’s part of an active investigation.
The readers are a package deal with surveillance cameras placed in streetlights — they are not a separate feature — and turning off the readers would not save any money if cameras stay on. The cameras are run by a company called Ubiquia, which contracts with Flock to handle the readers.
Councilmember Henry Foster III raised concerns that the now-retired San Diego police captain who handled the contract has since gone to work for Flock — which many opponents also highlighted. “I just think that is totally inappropriate,” he said.
For the balance of this article, please go here.
If the San Diego Police Department can justify, by stats, the cameras are helping catch and prosecute law breakers, or in the case of the body worn cameras, to tell both sides of a story, what’s the problem in that?? SD is already down about 1,000 officers on the street compared to other Cities of comparable population, so if these are doing a good job assisting catching the law breakers, and enough proof for the DA and City Attny. offices to prosecute, what’s wrong with them? There is no way SDPD is going to have a group of officers monitoring the cameras 24/7, on everyone of over 1 million people in SD. That’s a ridiculous thought. So if they’re working, why would the average person be afraid of them??? If you’re law abiding, then why be concerned with them. Many other cities PD wear body worn cameras, and have cameras stationed in high crime areas, or intersections with a lot of accidents.