Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Sheriff joins race for body cameras

Gore solicits cost and security data from would-be video vendors

After editorial endorsements of police body cameras by Douglas Manchester's U-T San Diego, San Diego sheriff Bill Gore has joined the bandwagon of those looking to hook up the officer-mounted surveillance devices.

Bill Gore

”All patrol officers should wear cameras — ASAP” proclaimed a November 25 editorial. "In San Diego, Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman is a big proponent of body cameras on officers and a believer in their potential to reduce police use of force. We wish this were true of all the nation’s law-enforcement leaders."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Shelley Zimmerman

On January 16, the county purchasing department issued a request for information "to invite and seek input from all interested parties who may possess the capability and interest in providing a Body-Worn Camera and Recording Systems and related services for the Sheriff's Department sworn personnel….

"Information submitted in response to this request will be used by the County to consider what capabilities and equipment is commercially available to potentially meet its needs," the notice says.

"Please note that all information provided in response to this RFI will be considered public information and may be subject to release under the Public Records Act."

San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, another Manchester-backed politico, has been touting the cameras for months.

"Working with Chief Zimmerman and City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, we currently have 600 patrol officers wearing body cameras, making us the largest city in the nation with this many cameras in use," he proclaimed in his January 14 state of the city speech.

"This technology protects both the officers who use it, and the civil liberties of the public they serve. It’s a bold initiative that other cities are now following. "

However bold, hasty acquisition of the video devices has raised nagging questions of privacy, reliability, and the ultimate cost to taxpayers, for which the county's information request is seeking answers due by January 30.

"What warranty do you provide with your equipment?" the solicitation asks. "Can you describe the process by which the video is encrypted and secured?"

"Please discuss repairs, exchanges, and replacement process. Discuss device and software updates and annual maintenance and support process."

Shirley Weber

Meanwhile, as the local law enforcement establishment races to get its cameras on the streets, Democratic assemblywoman Shirley Weber has introduced a bill to create a legislative task force to take testimony regarding proposed “best practices” of body-camera use.

"We have to also realize that we came into body cameras not because law enforcement couldn't do a good job enforcing the law, but because people were being abused at some point in terms of the power relationship between officers and the public," Weber told NBC affiliate KNSD earlier this month.

"We came into it in San Diego because of [police] sexual assault against women," she continued. "So we have to be very careful that we do protect the rights of the individual, the public."

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Woodpeckers are stocking away acorns, Amorous tarantulas

Stunning sycamores, Mars rising

After editorial endorsements of police body cameras by Douglas Manchester's U-T San Diego, San Diego sheriff Bill Gore has joined the bandwagon of those looking to hook up the officer-mounted surveillance devices.

Bill Gore

”All patrol officers should wear cameras — ASAP” proclaimed a November 25 editorial. "In San Diego, Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman is a big proponent of body cameras on officers and a believer in their potential to reduce police use of force. We wish this were true of all the nation’s law-enforcement leaders."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Shelley Zimmerman

On January 16, the county purchasing department issued a request for information "to invite and seek input from all interested parties who may possess the capability and interest in providing a Body-Worn Camera and Recording Systems and related services for the Sheriff's Department sworn personnel….

"Information submitted in response to this request will be used by the County to consider what capabilities and equipment is commercially available to potentially meet its needs," the notice says.

"Please note that all information provided in response to this RFI will be considered public information and may be subject to release under the Public Records Act."

San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, another Manchester-backed politico, has been touting the cameras for months.

"Working with Chief Zimmerman and City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, we currently have 600 patrol officers wearing body cameras, making us the largest city in the nation with this many cameras in use," he proclaimed in his January 14 state of the city speech.

"This technology protects both the officers who use it, and the civil liberties of the public they serve. It’s a bold initiative that other cities are now following. "

However bold, hasty acquisition of the video devices has raised nagging questions of privacy, reliability, and the ultimate cost to taxpayers, for which the county's information request is seeking answers due by January 30.

"What warranty do you provide with your equipment?" the solicitation asks. "Can you describe the process by which the video is encrypted and secured?"

"Please discuss repairs, exchanges, and replacement process. Discuss device and software updates and annual maintenance and support process."

Shirley Weber

Meanwhile, as the local law enforcement establishment races to get its cameras on the streets, Democratic assemblywoman Shirley Weber has introduced a bill to create a legislative task force to take testimony regarding proposed “best practices” of body-camera use.

"We have to also realize that we came into body cameras not because law enforcement couldn't do a good job enforcing the law, but because people were being abused at some point in terms of the power relationship between officers and the public," Weber told NBC affiliate KNSD earlier this month.

"We came into it in San Diego because of [police] sexual assault against women," she continued. "So we have to be very careful that we do protect the rights of the individual, the public."

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Woodpeckers are stocking away acorns, Amorous tarantulas

Stunning sycamores, Mars rising
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Downtown thrift shop offers three bands in one show

Come nightfall, Humble Heart hosts The Beat
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader