UPDATE — DECEMBER 9, 2025 8:40pm
San Diego City Council held three separate votes today related to surveillance technology:
• Vote 1 — SDPD Use Policy Update:
Approved 9–0.
This was largely procedural and non-controversial, aligning the department’s written policies with existing law and internal practices.
• Vote 2 — Smart Streetlights (Ubicquia):
Approved 7–2.
This authorizes continued deployment and operation of Ubicquia smart streetlight hardware across the city.
• Vote 3 — Flock ALPR Cameras:
Approved 6–3.
This is the most consequential vote, expanding San Diego’s automated license plate reader system and extending Flock’s role as the city’s ALPR vendor.
These updates significantly shape how vehicle-movement data, cameras, and vendor-controlled cloud systems will be used in San Diego going forward. The article below explains the broader context, risks, and implications behind these decisions.
Original Post:
A few people know the real answer. Many more know but don’t care. But most San Diegans have no idea how this system works — or why today’s City Council vote matters.
I’ve been studying this topic for a long time. Right now, just hours before the Council meets at 2 p.m. on Dec. 9, 2025, we have a window to shine some sunlight on what’s actually at stake.
TL;DR — The short version:
San Diego pays millions for a network of smart streetlights and automated license plate readers (ALPR). These devices sit on our poles but send data into vendor-controlled cloud systems run by Ubicquia and Flock. The City gets only a 30-day window of usable data. The vendors, meanwhile, retain perpetual rights to aggregated movement patterns and platform telemetry — information the public never sees.
Officials point to car-theft numbers and quick recoveries. Those benefits are real, but modest. Auto theft was already dropping nationwide due to unrelated trends. What the vendors gain, however, is far larger: a citywide data pipeline feeding into a national ALPR network already involved in controversies around abortion investigations, immigration enforcement, and oversight failures in multiple states.
San Diego’s own oversight bodies say we’re not in full compliance with our transparency laws even before expanding the system.
So today’s vote isn’t just about catching car thieves. It’s about whether we deepen our dependence on a surveillance network the public doesn’t control — and barely understands.
To explore the evidence, the contracts, and the full implications for civil liberties and city governance, read the long-form investigation here.
