breaking: The San Diego City Council Tuesday authorized the use of much-debated 'Smart Streetlights' and Automatic License Plate Reader technology to fight crime in the city.
Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert, head of the Public Safety Committee, where the authorization was passed 3-1 on July 19, said the technologies were unambiguously going to help police officers reduce crime.
NBC 7's Omari Fleming heard from community members hesitant to embrace SDPD's advanced surveillance techniques, and shares reaction to criticism from police."There have been a number of very important crimes solved, and just as importantly, a number of people exonerated because of Smart Streetlight cameras," Mayor Todd Gloria said at a news conference held Monday to urge the council to authorize the technologies.
"The community consensus is that nobody is listening," she said, describing the Public Safety Committee's approval of the SDPD's proposed authorization last month without any changes"a mockery of the hundreds of hours of effort that people have put into this." Regardless of what the police department claimed, Erin Tsurumoto Grassi, policy director of Alliance SD, part of TRUST SD Coalition, said she was worried about the potential use of the technologies on poorer communities and people of color.City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera said he was frustrated at how the conversation was being presented -- as a false choice between wanting safety or valuing civil liberties.
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