Watsonville leaders betrayed the community by approving 17 more Flock Safety surveillance cameras, writes a countywide grassroots coalition that opposes the cameras. The vote means Watsonville will have more than any other city in Santa Cruz County even as critics warn the devices erode privacy.
Flock Safety cameras
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Watsonville leaders say controversial plan to expand license plate readers won’t undermine city’s sanctuary status
Watsonville officials are defending their city’s immigration sanctuary reputation amid an outcry from residents over a plan to nearly double the use of Flock Safety’s license plate surveillance cameras.
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Watsonville votes to expand use of controversial Flock license plate readers despite immigration fears
The Watsonville City Council voted Tuesday night to renew a two-year contract with Flock Safety for automated license plate readers and add 17 more cameras throughout the city. Nearly 50 community members filled the council chambers to voice concerns over immigration enforcement risks.
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Movement against police use of Flock Safety cameras gains momentum in Santa Cruz County
As Watsonville weighs renewing its Flock Safety camera contract, a new coalition is urging local cities to cut ties with the surveillance vendor, citing immigration risks and civil liberties concerns.
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Santa Cruz, Capitola and Watsonville pledged not to cooperate with ICE. A controversial license plate reader may be undermining that promise.
Police in Santa Cruz, Capitola and Watsonville scan thousands of license plates daily thanks to a surveillance network that is used by hundreds of law enforcement agencies across the state, including at least one that has been found to be searching on behalf of federal authorities.
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License plate readers, primary endorsements, Felton pump track among final local political votes of 2023
Last week, local governments took some big votes they had pushed off to the final meetings of the year, a state agency made an unprecedented decision in a decades-old Santa Cruz County controversy, and the county’s Democratic machine picked the people and measures it wants to see succeed in the March 5 primary.
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Santa Cruz City Council delays vote on installing license plate readers over privacy concerns
The Santa Cruz Police Department asked the city council if it could lease automated license plate readers that would record each license plate that crosses the cameras’ lenses. Many residents and some organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, urged caution, saying they don’t want anything resembling an Orwellian surveillance state in the community. Faced […]