Inside SFPD's new 'nerve center': The high-tech surveillance tools helping fight crime
SFPD shows off new tech center
San Francisco police gave an inside look at its new Real-Time Investigation Center that uses drones, license plate readers, and other technology to help fight crime.
SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco Police Department on Wednesday gave an inside look at its new technology center and the tools officers are using to fight crime.
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The department’s Real-Time Investigation Center is already having a significant impact, using drones, license plate readers, and other technology to address crime citywide.
SFPD relocated from its former space at the Hall of Justice earlier this year and now operates out of a state-of-the-art facility in the Financial District.
Interim Police Chief Paul Yep described the tech hub as the "nerve center of the San Francisco Police Department," adding that "the real results are happening out on the streets."
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The department said the purpose-built center has contributed to hundreds of arrests and serves as a crime deterrent. Officials say the technology also helps officers work more efficiently.
"Let’s acknowledge that we do have a staffing shortage of 500 officers. This does not replace the rank and file — they work hard every day," Yep said. "But this augments our ability to be crime fighters in San Francisco."
Privacy concerns
The other side:
Privacy advocates say the new tools create a potential dragnet that threatens residents’ rights, including protections against unreasonable searches and police overreach.
"We know that being surveilled chills First Amendment speech," said Josh Richman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "People are less likely to want to participate if they know they are being filmed, photographed, followed, or surveilled."
SFPD leaders maintain they can expand their technology while safeguarding civil liberties.
"[The] San Francisco Department will also hold true to the values of our city," Yep said. "We will have strong policies in place to ensure that we protect privacy and civil liberties."
Sheriff’s office wants to lean in
The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office is also looking to increase its use of technology.
"I have deputies who are FAA-certified drone pilots with no home," Sheriff Paul Miyamoto said. "Now this additional space and additional resources give us the opportunity to have them co-located to get more birds in the air."
The ACLU of Northern California also raised concerns about the growing use of surveillance tools.
"Drones, automated license plate readers, and similar mass-surveillance technologies have become more pervasive in cities like San Francisco," the organization said in a statement. "They pose a major threat to people's privacy and civil liberties."
The ACLU added that with the federal government attempting to obtain data from local agencies, the city should think carefully about the information it collects.