San Diego gives final OK to $12 million police surveillance network

After months of deliberation, and at times controversy, San Diego’s City Council on Tuesday gave its final approval to a police surveillance network that will cost $12 million over the next five years.

The network, made up of 500 cameras equipped with license plate reader technology, could be placed across San Diego — from Rancho Bernardo in the north to San Ysidro in the south — as early as January.

Police officials — who have touted the technology as a crime-fighting tool and a force multiplier — say the cameras will be installed in public places where there is no expectation of privacy. Investigators will not monitor the network in real time but instead review the footage and data collected after serious crimes or incidents occur.

The technology has prompted fierce pushback from some privacy and community advocates, who contend the contract and policies that govern the technology’s use don’t do enough to safeguard privacy or the data collected, and that funding for the project would be better spent on other public safety initiatives.