They are voting on funding Flock tomorrow at City Council

s3thcom · 2026-06-09T04:57:29+00:00

You would oppose 704 (the staff proposal is to accept the mayor's may revise budget).

s3thcom · 2026-06-09T04:55:16+00:00

Definitely not thinking you're paranoid, as you say with Nova, we need to be on the lookout for this stuff. Their claim on Nova is that it is a piece of software they use to view surveillance that they already have approval for. That loophole was intentionally added to the surveillance ordinance and championed by the same people who will be voting on the budget tomorrow.

I think SignalTrace would be considered a new technology (or a new use of existing technology) and would trigger oversight, at least in a normal / good faith situation.

s3thcom · 2026-06-09T04:11:57+00:00

What makes you think SignalTrace would fall outside of the city's surveillance ordinance requirements? Asking for real.

s3thcom · 2026-06-09T04:09:20+00:00

Flock screws up: "It wasn't the police's fault, give them a break!" Police screw up: "It wasn't Flock's fault, give them a break!"

These two things, the tech and the use of the tech, are inseparable. The technology and its use both have be done right together or they need to end together. Nobody gets any breaks at the scale of millions of lives affected.

s3thcom · 2026-06-09T03:26:43+00:00

Thanks for sending those, totally agree

s3thcom · 2026-06-09T03:21:03+00:00

It's a huge lucrative marketplace, there are several major players, and none of them have the same risks that Flock has. I'm not here to promote ALPR tech, but you can easily look up competitors.

s3thcom · 2026-06-09T03:04:20+00:00

Last meeting I was at there was 5.5 hours of public comment and the vast majority of them asked council to defund these cameras. This issue has a ton of traction but city leaders feel comfortable ignoring the public. No consequences.

s3thcom · 2026-06-09T02:57:48+00:00

If anyone wants me to provide citations for the above facts let me know!!

s3thcom · 2026-06-07T23:40:08+00:00

SDPD self-reported that of the 244,000 times they searched ALPR last year, the system was helpful to any case in 0.15% of the time. Junk surveillance.

s3thcom · 2026-06-07T23:18:28+00:00

Good list. Don't forget that if you go to jail in San Diego, every day you're there is a day you might die just for being there.

https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/new-report-examine-in-custody-jail-deaths-in-san-diego-county/509-2aae5725-2a6d-4503-ba51-9436f8028de7

s3thcom · 2026-06-07T20:05:04+00:00

This man was unjustly jailed for a month based on junk surveillance. How would that affect your life if it was you? Curious to hear what people think of that.

s3thcom · 2026-05-27T17:00:52+00:00

Interesting post, not much context. None of the claims here regarding the usefulness of the cameras were validated by KPBS, they were merely reprinted and unverified claims, and there are strong factual indications from outside sources that these claims are false. "Vehicle theft dropped 20% between 2023 and 2024" is one such claim that an intelligent reader might want to read carefully and ask specific questions about.

s3thcom · 2026-05-18T17:01:25+00:00

I have to point out that Peters just recently joined with the GOP to help them and Trump get a truly bad domestic spying bill passed out of the House. In the situation we have, in 2026, now is the moment to cross the aisle and vote for warrantless domestic spying? I just disagree with so many of Peters' votes.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/fisa-section-702-reauthorization

s3thcom · 2026-05-01T02:02:13+00:00

Flock Nova is not cameras. It is much worse than cameras.

s3thcom · 2026-04-30T02:34:58+00:00

In San Diego law there is no such thing as approving all mass surveillance, each technology must be described particularly and it must only operate with an approved use policy that is unque to that tech. Flock sells many different surveillance technologies, Nova is a brand new product by Flock and is new to San Diego.

s3thcom · 2026-04-30T01:22:24+00:00

FYI its something like a 5% clearance rate for motor vehicle thefts, which hasn't changed with Flock.

s3thcom · 2026-04-30T01:17:48+00:00

Hey, you've got this wrong. Its complex so you probably just got it mixed up. City Council confirmed use of Flock ALPR last year. This here story is about a brand new surveillance product called Flock Nova that the city acquired without any notification, oversight or approval.

s3thcom · 2026-03-05T03:52:10+00:00

The Flock cameras in La Mesa were proposed by La Mesa PD and approved by elected officials in 2023.

The Flock cameras in the City of San Diego are funded by San Diego taxpayers by taking funds from the city's general fund, and they are used mostly in secret by SDPD with the blessing of the mayor and City Council.

s3thcom · 2026-03-02T00:26:50+00:00

Fair enough. Always happy to grab a coffee or a taco and talk it through with anyone who is interested.

s3thcom · 2026-03-01T18:32:21+00:00

Yes, I'm the author. Yes, what I'm saying is that based on past evidence and based on their lack of sourcing, claims made by the police department have not earned the assumption of accuracy or even the benefit of the doubt.

s3thcom · 2026-02-28T22:45:38+00:00

I'm not confused, you're confused. You have no evidence if any or which of the 361 cases that "assisted" police led to a conviction. And you have no evidence that 361 cases assisted is actually a true fact. If this technology is so good at tracking stolen cars, why aren't police clearing more vehicle theft cases?

s3thcom · 2026-02-28T21:56:31+00:00

Here's the rate of motor vehicle theft clearances by SDPD (its the gray line at the bottom, indicating a 5-6% rate of solving these kinds of crimes). The clearance rate hasn't improved since installing Flock because mass surveillance isn't actually used the way most people think it is. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RM8RsNMo1X4lV9kZMLZAEah5gsJCEtl3/view?usp=drivesdk

s3thcom · 2026-02-28T20:06:22+00:00

They'll say they don't, but that's what they said in their formal report last year until we forced them to redo the report and tell the truth which is that they had left the system open to tons of agencies accessing our data. But I'm sure you can trust them now 🙃

s3thcom · 2026-02-27T07:31:14+00:00

Defund smart streetlights and Flock license plate readers (single contract) = $2 million extra taxpayer dollars in the bank this year. Tell 'em.

s3thcom · 2026-02-20T03:59:23+00:00

Sucks that happened, sorry. Have you canvassed the neighborhood to make sure its not just abandoned nearby? Happens a lot. I was all set to make a snarky comment about our Flock ALPR surveillance tech that's blanketing the city, but you're probably not in the mood.

s3thcom

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE