SFPD Use of Technology

Prop E and SFPD’s Use of

Drone Technology

Explanation:

There is a troubling effort underway to use the Police Commission to undo what San Francisco voters have already decided at the ballot box. The Public Defender’s Office and groups opposed to a more proactive public-safety approach are lobbying for restrictions on SFPD’s use of drones, despite the fact that voters approved Proposition E with the express intent of giving SFPD greater access to modern technology.

Reasonable oversight and privacy safeguards are appropriate. But there is a fundamental difference between establishing responsible rules for technology and effectively taking away a tool that voters specifically authorized the police department to use.

The Police Commission should not become the venue through which opponents of Proposition E accomplish what they could not accomplish with voters. If there are legitimate concerns about drone deployment, address those concerns with clear, narrowly tailored safeguards. Do not use them as a backdoor mechanism to nullify the will of San Francisco voters.

Our public-safety focused members are raising concerns and ask that we all speak up.

Send an email to the Commissioners, Supervisors and Mayor reminding them we voted FOR the use of technology to help SFPD safely and effectively reduce crime in our city.

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Email Subject

Email template below. Please adapt as needed.

Dear Police Commissioners, Supervisors and Mayor Lurie,&#13;&#10;&#13;&#10;I am writing to urge you to support SFPD’s continued and responsible use of technology, including drones, as an important tool for preventing and solving crime and keeping San Franciscans safe.&#13;&#10;&#13;&#10;First, the voters have already spoken. Proposition E was passed by San Francisco voters as a clear mandate that our police department should have access to, and make responsible use, of modern technology to improve public safety. That mandate should not be undermined through policies that effectively prevent SFPD from using the tools voters approved.&#13;&#10;&#13;&#10;Second, we are seeing results. Since the department began employing this technology, car break-ins have reportedly declined by 59%. While no single intervention can take credit for an entire change in crime statistics, it would be shortsighted to ignore the role that technology, coupled with effective policing, can play in changing behavior and deterring crime.&#13;&#10;And deterrence is particularly important. The best outcome is preventing the crime from happening in the first place. Technology, combined with the word spreading on the streets that criminals can be identified and held accountable, can change the risk calculation for someone considering committing a crime. That is far preferable to responding after the fact, and especially preferable to putting officers, suspects, and innocent members of the public at risk through dangerous vehicle pursuits.&#13;&#10;&#13;&#10;Third, I think it is important to correct a misconception about drones. SFPD drones are not simply flying around San Francisco willy-nilly, observing residents in their daily lives. They are deployed in response to criminal activity and specific public-safety needs. The question should therefore be whether we have appropriate rules, oversight, and safeguards governing their use, not whether we should effectively deny SFPD access to a valuable tool altogether.&#13;&#10;&#13;&#10;Finally, concerns about FLOCK technology should not be conflated with the use of drones. These are different technologies with different capabilities, applications, and privacy implications. It is entirely appropriate to scrutinize each technology on its own merits and establish reasonable safeguards. But concerns about one technology should not become a reason to restrict another technology that can provide significant public-safety benefits.&#13;&#10;San Franciscans should not have to choose between public safety and reasonable privacy protections. We can, and should, have both.&#13;&#10;I respectfully ask you to honor the voters’ mandate, recognize the demonstrated benefits of responsible technology use, and allow SFPD to use drones and other appropriate tools under clear, transparent safeguards.&#13;&#10;&#13;&#10;We should be looking for ways to make these tools safer and more accountable—not taking effective tools away from officers and the public they are charged with protecting.&#13;&#10;

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