LA MESA, Calif. — La Mesa is the latest city to approve the implementation of automated license plate readers after a 4-1 vote at a city council meeting Tuesday.
Other cities in San Diego County such as Chula Vista, National City, El Cajon — and the city of San Diego itself — have approved similar agreements in recent months despite contention among community members. While law enforcement and supporters of the technology advocate for its crime-solving components, others say it's an invasion of privacy.
"No one is talking about the privacy impact," one resident said at Tuesday council meeting.
Flock Safety's latest contract with La Mesa will place 20 automated license plate readers throughout the city in high traffic areas. The two-year contract will cost taxpayers roughly $124,000. Here's how it works: Flock Safety sends alerts to law enforcement whenever one of the company's cameras detect a stolen or wanted vehicle from a local, state or national database.
This batch of cameras will be an addition to the license plate readers currently mounted on La Mesa police vehicles.
La Mesa Police Chief Ray Sweeney argued in favor of the technology Tuesday, citing El Cajon's recent successes with stolen vehicle recovery and arrests. He said he believes his city needs to join the growing list of San Diego County cities that have already implemented the technology.
"We're always looking at how we can keep our community safe," he said. This is one tool."
National City approved the purchase of nearly 100 cameras recently. Earlier this month, San Diego City Council approved 500 license plate readers. Before that, Chula Vista officials approved 150 ALPRs. But El Cajon's success with its 40 cameras is what Chief Sweeney pointed to.
"In just the first 11 weeks of their program, I think they had 47 stops of stolen vehicles and 50 something arrests," he said.
In October, CBS 8 reported that El Cajon's Police Chief Mike Moulton said fifty stolen vehicles had been recovered with a grand value of $500,000, and 59 people were arrested in a three month period. El Cajon has 40 cameras with its three-year Flock Safety contract.
La Mesa police are hoping to see similar results.
According to the proposal on the project submitted by Chief Sweeney, there have been 671 vehicle thefts in La Mesa from the start of 2020 up to September 30, 2023. Roughly 90% of of vehicle thefts in La Mesa do not end in arrest, the report says.
Residents throughout San Diego County have voiced concerns regarding both data privacy and immigration enforcement.
However, police say any collected data will not be shared with agencies outside of California or restricted federal agencies, in compliance with Senate Bill 54. The data will also be discarded after 30 days, according to Flock Safety.
It is unclear when the cameras will be installed.
WATCH RELATED: El Cajon Police recovers 50 stolen cars in 3 months using license plate readers