Drivers traveling through unincorporated San Diego County could be monitored by automated license plate readers if a proposal facing the county Board of Supervisors next week moves forward.
County Sheriff Kelly Martinez is expected to present a plan to the board next week to install close to 60 cameras, for the first time, in the unincorporated areas patrolled by the Sheriff's Department.
The Sheriff’s Office already operates license plate reading cameras in five cities, including Encinitas, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Poway and San Marcos. The proposal would expand their use to places like Alpine, Lakeside, Fallbrook, Julian, Ramona, Spring Valley, 4S Ranch and Valley Center.
SDSO Lt. Nathan Rowley is stationed in unincorporated Valley Center and supports the idea.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
“Really, just the amount of information it can give us to be able to solve crimes is just immense," Rowley said. "As you can imagine, especially out here where I work in our semi-rural areas, we have maybe 400 square miles and three to four deputies working, only three detectives. So trying to track down on leads sometimes, it gets a little hairy."
Lakeside residents have mixed opinions on the cameras' use in their neck of the woods.
“ I'm all for it. I mean, if it apprehends somebody that has done something more quickly, I'm all for that, " said Julie Robinson.
“I don't commit crimes, and I'm still worried about it. So it's just one of those things. How much Big Brother do we need in our house? I don't need anymore,” said Dave Chavez.
That’s a sentiment shared by Seth Hall who's the co-founder of San Diego Privacy, which works with organizations to create privacy protections.
He points to a Sacramento County grand jury report that shows both the Sacramento police and sheriff’s Department weren't completely following state laws by sharing data with out-of-state law enforcement.
He’s also concerned that the county doesn't have a surveillance ordinance like the city.
"You're opening up the door to all kinds of different types of abuse. And so, if you don't have some kind of really robust system looking into how the technology is used, it's basically guaranteed that you're going to come out of the other side with that, with some kind of abuse or misuse of the technology," said Hall.
The Sheriff's Office says employees will follow the law, as well as the policies and procedures they have on the books.
Regarding use and access to data, Lt. Rowley says the department will work to keep it protected.
“When it comes to sharing this information, we're not going to share it with anybody that is a commercial or private organization. It truly stays within law enforcement itself, Rowley said. " And the other part of the policy the sheriff has stated is that they're not going to allow unfettered access to federal agencies."
The readers will hold car information for 30 days before it's deleted unless the vehicle is part of an investigation.
The Sheriff’s Office says it has had meetings with the affected communities to discuss the added cameras. They'll present their request for more readers to the board of supervisors next Tuesday.
