By Tracy McCray – POA President
As the Alan Parsons Project famously put it, “I am the eye in the sky, looking at you…”—and for San Francisco, that lyric has become more than just a haunting melody. With the expansion of technologies like Flock cameras, drones, and a network of public and private surveillance systems, the San Francisco Police Department has gained a powerful edge in the fight against crime.
At a recent press conference held at the SFPD’s Real Time Information Center, Mayor Daniel Lurie stood shoulder-to-shoulder with department and community leadership to highlight the real impact of surveillance tech. The message was clear: when it comes to public safety, San Francisco is doubling down.
The Flock Safety system, which uses automated license plate recognition (ALPR) technology, has become a game changer. It has allowed for quicker identification of stolen vehicles, tracking of suspect movements, and crucially, increased interagency cooperation. Law enforcement across jurisdictions are now sharing information seamlessly—and it is leading to arrests that would’ve taken days or weeks without it.
But let us not stop at “good enough.” San Francisco currently lags behind cities like Chicago and New York when it comes to the number of deployed public safety cameras. To truly match the scale and success of those cities, we need at least 400 more cameras in place. Whether it is red light cameras, MUNI surveillance, or privately operated feeds voluntarily shared with law enforcement, every angle counts when it comes to prevention and prosecution. As DA Brooke Jenkins said, the jury wants to see the incident that has them sitting in the box. Whether it is the Body Worn Cameras (BWC) that officers are wearing or the drone/surveillance footage, the story of how a crime unfolded is most helpful with visual aides.
And it is working. Just ask the overburdened District Attorney’s office or the Public Defender’s team—both of whom are seeing more cases land on their desks as SFPD makes arrest after arrest with the help of tech. That is how we like it: keeping them busy and sending a loud message to would-be criminals—do not come here thinking you will get a pass, as Homey the Clown from In Living Color said it best. “Homey don’t play that!”
Critics will call it a “police state.” They will raise concerns at public meetings and post think pieces online. But the truth is, many of them do not offer solutions—just slogans, while writing, researching, and commenting on their advance technological devices. Meanwhile, the residents and business owners of this city want tangible results, and that is exactly what these tools deliver.
This is not about watching everyone—it is about protecting everyone. Technology is not the enemy. Lawlessness is. And while the police department is trying to get more boots on the ground, it can not afford to regress from the progress in lowering crime that is currently taking place. No one wants to go backwards-it is not a good look for the city of St. Francis.
So, if you are breaking the law in San Francisco?
Get the flock out of here.
Comments are closed.