MEETING DATE:
MAY 14, 2024
SUBJECT:
Title
SAFE SAN MARCOS PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION AND ASSOCIATED DIRECTION AND AUTHORIZATION CONCERNING FUNDING AND USE OF LICENSE PLATE READERS
Body
Recommendation
Recommendation
APPROVE the City's participation in the Safe San Marcos Program of the Sheriff’s Department and the use of automated License Plate Readers, AUTHORIZE the City Manager to execute the related Memorandum of Understanding with the Sheriff's Department, and AUTHORIZE the City Manager to appropriate funds, if and when available, to purchase cameras/technology for installation and use by the Sheriff’s Department to supplement the program.
Body
Board or Commission Action
Not Applicable
Relevant Council Strategic Theme
Quality of Life
Executive Summary
Although the City of San Marcos is one of the safest cities in San Diego County, and in California, the City and the San Diego County Sheriff's Department continue their ongoing cooperative efforts to identify and implement tools available to law enforcement to further augment the safety of the community. The programs being proposed by the Sheriff's Department are called Safe San Marcos and the use of automated license plate reader (LPR) cameras.
The proposed Safe San Marcos Program addressed in the proposed MOU allows businesses and residents, on a strictly voluntary basis, to share access with the Sheriff's Department to both live video and recorded video from the privately owned camera systems. This shared access provides additional resources to the Sheriff’s Department to better police the city and assists with tracking crime in real time. It can also help facilitate timely investigations and be a valuable tool for criminal investigations. In addition to Safe San Marcos, staff recommends that the Council authorize LPR cameras to be strategically placed by the Sheriff's Department throughout the City, both to deter crime as well as observe crime when it happens.
The cities of Lemon Grove, Santee, and Poway have also implemented these programs. Most contract cities not currently participating in the Safe “City” Program have or will be adopting LPR programs as part of their public safety missions. The Sheriff’s Department has a policy and procedures in place to balance the need to protect the safety of the communities they serve, while ensuring that the public's right to privacy is safeguarded, which are included in the agenda packet. The program is focused on high visibility with the intent of being highly transparent.
Discussion
Safe San Marcos offers a unique partnership between the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, the City, and the public. The Sheriff's Department currently manages pole-mounted public safety cameras throughout most contract cities within the County that allow deputies to actively monitor them when responding to a call for service in the affected area. One aspect of this collaborative partnership between the affected city and the Sheriff's Department, and between the Sheriff's Department and local businesses and residents, is to help create a safer environment for both residents and first responders. It provides an opportunity to deter crime by strategically placing cameras throughout the City along with providing residents reassurance of personal safety in public places. The LPR program strives to balance the public safety needs of the community and first responders while maintaining the public’s right to privacy.
The Safe San Marcos program is a strictly voluntary opt-in program for local businesses and residents allowing visual access to a wider network area of privately-maintained equipment to first responders. By allowing access to these private cameras, the wider network established through the Sheriff’s Department can help further deter crime, allow crimes to be tracked in real time, streamline the process of the Sheriff’s Department access to video that may document crimes, and assist in prosecution. Participation in this program by businesses and residents is purely voluntary. The program provides two options, with one option to allow access to live video and another option simply allow access to recorded video if the Sheriff's Department requests it for a crime investigation for its evidentiary value. The Sheriff’s Department has advised that this program is in compliance with all federal, State, County and local laws, rules, and regulations.
The proposed Safe San Marcos Program would be under the management and control of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. The Sheriff’s Department will install LPR camera network infrastructure, while the City would be responsible for providing the Sheriff’s Department with funding for these additional cameras. To provide flexibility and options, part of the requested action with this report is authorizing the City Manager to provide the funding for the Sheriff’s Department purchase of specialized cameras such as LPR cameras (currently $3,000 each), if and when needed by the City and Sheriff’s Department, and if and when funding becomes available.
The proposed Safe San Marcos Program would be exclusively operated and administered by the Sheriff’s Department. Should the City Council approve participation in the program, the City would enter into a separate Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (Attachment A) which would incorporate the program into the work being done in the City by the Sheriff’s Department. The MOU specifies the Sheriff's Department is responsible for administration and operation of the Safe San Marcos Program and data associated with the program. It also provides that the Sheriff’s Department will defend and indemnify the City from any claim or proceeding to the extent it arises out of acts of the Sheriff's Department related to the MOU for the Safe San Marcos Program. As public agencies subject to the disclosure requirements of the California Public Records Act (CPRA), upon receipt of any request from a third party for records related to the Safe San Marcos program, the City would notify the Sheriff’s Department, and the Sheriff’s Department will be solely responsible for responding to the request for records in its possession. The Sheriff’s Department shall determine, at its sole discretion and responsibility, whether information requested that is in its possession is or is not subject to disclosure under the CPRA. The City would bear that responsibility for any Safe San Marcos Program records in its own possession.
Should the City Council approve participation in the Safe San Marcos and the LPR program, following execution of the MOU, City staff and the Sheriff's Department will coordinate on the timing of implementation of the programs, the purchasing and placement of the cameras, as well as developing promotional material in both English and Spanish about the programs to promote awareness. A component of the promotional material will include information about the website where businesses and residents can opt in to share access to their cameras (Attachment B). That website will be hosted and supported by the Sheriff’s Department. The website will provide information about which camera systems are, and are not, compatible with the program infrastructure. As noted above, businesses and residents can opt to share access to live video feed or simply opt to share recorded information if requested by the Sheriff's Department. The recommended action is to approve participation in the programs, to authorize the City Manager to execute the MOU with the Sheriff’s Department, to authorize the installation of LPRs in the City and, if and as funding becomes available, to fund additional LPR technology as desired.
Environmental Review
The proposed action does not constitute a “project” as defined under Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines (California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, Sections 15000 - 15387), and is therefore not subject to environmental review pursuant to Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3).
Fiscal Impact
It is anticipated that the fiscal impact to the current Sheriff contract would be an estimated additional $40,000 per year to initiate and support the ongoing operation and maintenance of the LPR camera program, when the LPR component launches at a later time. As part of the Sheriff’s Department’s responsibility to operate of the Safe San Marcos program, the Sheriff Department will also be responsible management of the LPR camera equipment purchase, installation and maintenance. Any changes to the City’s Adopted Annual Operations Budget would be subject to City Council approval via subsequent action item.
Attachment(s)
Proposed MOU
Safe San Marcos Flyer
Sheriff’s Department Procedure regarding LPRs
Sheriff’s Department Policy regarding LPRs
Prepared by: Kevin Ralph, Captain, San Diego Sheriff
Approved by: Michelle Bender, City Manager