Uncertain future for automated license plate readers in the City of San Diego | NBC 7 San Diego
The short version: San Diego leaders are weighing whether to ditch ALPRs entirely, a rare moment where public pressure might actually roll back surveillance infrastructure.
Our Take
Credit to NBC 7 San Diego and reporter Omari Fleming for covering a story that doesn't get enough airtime: cities actually reconsidering whether they need automated license plate readers at all. Most local news coverage of Flock Safety and similar systems treats them as a settled fact of modern policing. San Diego's city leaders publicly questioning that assumption is newsworthy precisely because it's so rare.
What makes these debates matter is that they expose how little oversight existed in the first place. ALPR networks get installed under vague promises of solving car theft or finding stolen vehicles, then quietly expand into blanket surveillance of everyone's movements, with retention policies, data-sharing agreements, and audit trails that most city councils never scrutinize until a reporter or a skeptical council member forces the issue. If San Diego is now asking "do we even need this," that's a sign the sales pitch is wearing thin nationwide.
We'll be watching to see whether this results in actual cameras coming down or just a paperwork shuffle. If you want to see how dense San Diego's ALPR network already is, or whether cameras are watching your own neighborhood, check our map. And if you'd rather not wait for your city council to have a change of heart, our take action page has steps for pushing back now.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of NBC 7 San Diego, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.