Activists Protest Rollout of ‘Smart Streetlamps’ Across San Diego Due to Surveillance Concerns

Activists Protest Rollout of ‘Smart Streetlamps’ Across San Diego Due to Surveillance Concerns

The mayor says that the only people who should be concerned about the video-enabled streetlamps are people committing “violent crimes on a street corner in full public view.”

Though San Diego first approved its plan for sensor-equipped streetlights in 2016, the city is only now facing backlash for the program after local organizers and activists became concerned about the lights’ acoustic sensors and surveillance cameras.

Officials paid $30 million to install 4,200 lights and upgrade 8,700 others to LED bulbs, according to StateScoop. The first phase of the retrofitting process with CityIQ nodes -- which have environmental, acoustic and optical sensors -- started last year, but the city only began holding community forums about the technology in June.

The delay in community involvement has many advocacy groups across San Diego worried about how the “smart streetlights” will be used, particularly when it comes to policing minority groups. On Sept. 15, Dustin Craun, the executive director of the San Diego Council on American-Islamic Relations, drew attention to the program with a Medium post documenting his concern that mosques were under extreme surveillance due to the streetlamps.

“With the Trump administrations targeting of Muslim communities we cannot allow this technology to be in place, especially if the Trump administration were to stay in power and increase targeting of Muslim communities in his second term,” Craun wrote.

Craun’s organization and other advocacy groups took their concerns to the steps of City Hall last week as part of a protest calling for a moratorium on “smart streetlights” until residents have been informed about what data is being collected and how the city is using it. About 50 demonstrators participated in the protest, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

“Until there is oversight by the community and policy that is legally enforceable in place and an ordinance written into law, you cannot use these smart streetlights any further,” Geneviéve Jones-Wright, legal director for the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans, told the newspaper.

City officials admit that they could have started public education efforts sooner in order to prevent confusion about the streetlamp program. Jeffrey Jordan, a San Diego police captain who oversees the camera program, told StateScoop that the nodes’ acoustic sensors are enabled but not activated.

Jordan added that fewer than 100 police officers are authorized to review footage from the cameras if a crime occurred, and their interactions with the footage are audited. Footage has been accessed 164 times in the last 13 months it has been available, he said.

Activists planned to send a letter to the mayor demanding the program be discontinued until their concerns are resolved. As of now, Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who has supported the program as a major sustainability initiative, is standing behind it.

"The Mayor is a strong support of using technology to improve the lives of San Diegans and the smart streetlight program is used to collect valuable information, such as traffic and pedestrian counts, that can be used for future planning,” a spokesperson for the mayor said in a written statement. “The San Diego Police Department uses the streetlight cameras only to investigate crimes that have already occurred and never for surveillance.”

“The bottom line is you have nothing to worry about unless you decide to commit a violent crime on a street corner in full public view."

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • The Future is Happening Outside the Cloud

    For years, the cloud has captivated the physical security industry. And for good reason. Remote access, elastic scalability and simplified maintenance reshaped how we think about deploying and managing systems. But as the number of cameras grows and resolutions push from HD to 4K and beyond, the cloud’s limits are becoming unavoidable. Bandwidth bottlenecks. Latency lags. Rising storage costs. These are not abstract concerns. Read Now

  • The Impact of Convergence Between IT and Physical Security

    For years, the worlds of physical security and information technology (IT) remained separate. While they shared common goals and interests, they often worked in silos. Read Now

  • Unlocking Trustworthy AI: Building Transparency in Security Governance

    In situations where AI supports important security tasks like leading investigations and detecting threats and anomalies, transparency is essential. When an incident occurs, investigators must trace the logic behind each automated response to confirm its validity or spot errors. Demanding interpretable AI turns opaque “black boxes” into accountable partners that enhance, rather than compromise, organizational defense. Read Now

  • Seeking Innovative Solutions

    Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. You may recognize these terms as the “5 Phases” of a grieving process, but they could easily describe the phases one goes through before adopting any new or emerging innovation or technology, especially in a highly risk-averse industry like security. However, the desire for convenience in all aspects of modern life is finally beginning to turn the tide from old school hardware as the go-to towards more user-friendly, yet still secure, door solutions. Read Now

  • Where AI Meets Human Judgment

    Artificial intelligence is everywhere these days. It is driving business growth, shaping consumer experiences, and showing up in places most of us never imagined just a few years ago. Read Now

New Products

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge.

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions.

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.