CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — City leaders in Chula Vista unanimously approved a controversial surveillance program during Tuesday evening's city council meeting.
The council will now move forward with adding 150 automated license plate readers throughout the city.
ABC 10News reporter Rachel Bianco attended the meeting, and she spoke to people who voiced privacy concerns.
Currently, the Chula Vista Police Department has four license plate readers that are kept in certain patrol cars. Immigration advocates, like Pedro Rios, are concerned about how the information gathered will be used.
“In the past, the use of ALPR technology has raised a lot of concerns, precisely around how information was shared with immigration authorities. Though that was resolved, the community trust was left in shambles," Rios, the director of the American Friends Service Committee, says.
Meanwhile, Mayor John McCann says the data will only be shared with state agencies.
"The license plate reader only reads the license plate. It doesn't say who is in the car or who is driving the car," he says. "In addition, it's only being shared with state agencies in California — none of which are the immigration authorities."
A city staff report says the police department received more than $3 million for its retail theft prevention grant program. The report says crime, including vehicle thefts, is up in Chula Vista. Between 2018 and 2022, vehicle thefts increased roughly 8% each year.
Some people welcome any additional tool for law enforcement.
"I'm always scared to have my car windows broken," one person at the meeting says.
"I'm all for justice and catching people faster, but I hope it will be used for a good cause," Sonia Herrera says.
Another vocal supporter of the license plate readers was the sister of Maya Millete. She told the council she believes her sister's body would have been found by now if those cameras were posted throughout the city.
