‘Smart streetlights’ could get easier for San Diego police to deploy

Above: San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl sits down with FOX 5 on Aug. 12 to talk back-to-school safety, smart streetlights and more.

Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to fix errors tied to the name of San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl and clarify the nature of the proposed change. We regret the errors.

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl is continuing to push for greater flexibility to deploy “smart streetlight” technology more than a month after a controversial move to bypass the typical approval process for the cameras’ use in Hillcrest.

In a conversation with FOX 5 Monday morning, the police chief said he hoped to get clarity soon as to whether he has leeway to strategically move around the cameras as needed once they are approved for use — an option he believes the department needs to further public safety.

“Our crime trends and our emerging threats do not follow a surveillance ordinance, I need to have that flexibility to move things rapidly to address crime,” Wahl said.

It comes as the city council is set to hear a proposal by the police department to expand its long-term discretion over the placement of license camera readers when the legislative body returns from its August recess next month.

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The change, which would fall under the ordinance’s impact report requirement, would allow site-specific approvals of the technology to apply to a two-block zone, creating flexibility to move it from one lamppost to another nearby if unexpected infrastructure issues arise or the surroundings limit visibility.

Nearly 100 of the 500 cameras approved for use back in December had such issues at its predetermined location. According to SDPD, 412 smart streetlights have been installed and only 369 sites are working properly.

To move these devices to a new spot under the current ordinance, city officials say police would need to go through the whole approval process again, which can take upwards of six to nine months.

Although a handful of these smart streetlights were shifted to different neighborhoods ahead of San Diego Pride and Comic-Con.

Police initiated approval for their use through an accelerated process built into the law for “exigent circumstances” simultaneously as their installation, but it has not yet been brought before the city council. The ones in Hillcrest remain active.

“The question now is whether the police chief … has the authority to move a camera that’s approved for use, that’s totally legal, to move from that pole to that pole without having to go back through a nine month process for approval,” Wahl said on FOX 5 Monday.

The proposal to allow for this long-term flexibility was passed unanimously by the city council’s Public Safety Committee in early July, although it has yet to make it before the full council. It was added to the agenda twice, but was punted both times.

In the July 10 committee meeting when it was heard, Councilmember Marni von Wilpert spoke in favor of the change, describing the current approval process as a “bureaucratic nightmare.”

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“If there are burglaries or home invasions happening in a community, I don’t want to wait six to nine months for the city bureaucracy to work its turn so you can move a camera into a sensitive location,” she said.

However, opponents to the change have raised concerns that it could create a chilling effect on the spirit of mechanisms built into the ordinance to technology’s technology and oversight.

“Our communities and local experts have created clear rules about how police can safely use the system, under the oversight of our elected city leaders,” Seth Hall with the TRUST San Diego Coalition said in a statement. “The only way San Diego will be able to continue to use this technology is if our police follow the rules and work to maintain the trust of all San Diegans.”

“When our police meet behind locked doors, declare false ’emergencies’, and use fear to justify ignoring the rules and to justify running away from oversight, they violate the trust of San Diegans and make long-term safe use of this technology seem impossible,” Hall continued.

Ashley Nicholes, a spokesperson for SDPD, said the department would take steps to balance the new flexibility with transparency, such as continuing to use the smart streetlight mapping system and conducting outreach in impacted communities.

She noted the policy change being considered by the city council would not amend the cameras’ use policies, limiting application of the data it collects to addressing violent crime. It would also not impact the 30-day cap on storage of data not used in an active investigation.

“It has been a game changer as far as fighting crime,” Wahl said of the technology’s use thus far, pointing to incidents where it has assisted in real-time to locate suspects, find missing persons or recover stolen property.

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In Hillcrest, Wahl said the cameras deployed prior to Pride also helped identify suspects in a vandalism incident last week, which authorities are investigating as a hate crime, where a swastika and an anti-LGBTQ+ slur were spray-painted on a wall and trashcan.

The police chief did not specify if the individuals identified with the license plate readers have been arrested, but he said investigators are “working through” the case right now.

“That is exactly their purpose and intent,” Wahl said. “Because of one of the new cameras we have up there [after] the controversial move to move them up there to address these hate crimes, we were able to get the license plate information.”

The next city council meeting is scheduled for Sept. 9, although an agenda has not been set. According to Nicholes, it is unknown exactly when in September the smart streetlights might be brought before the full city council.

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