SEATTLE — The City of San Francisco is significantly smaller than Seattle, at just 47 square miles, but is denser and shares some of the same civic challenges.
But inside an unmarked building in the city’s Financial District, there is a big difference.
RELATED | Wide-ranging reactions as Seattle reactivates RTCC cameras and expands surveillance system
It is where San Francisco police officers watch a network of cameras and coordinate drone deployments as crimes are reported across the city.
The Real Time Investigation Center, established in 2024, has access to about 400 cameras operated and authorized by business improvement districts and community groups.
Voters also authorized the use of nearly 100 police drones.
Police say the center generally reviews camera footage after a crime is reported. Live access is reserved for life-threatening emergencies or enforcement operations approved by a captain or higher-ranking official.
But the technology has led to a massive reduction in car thefts and break-ins.
“We’ve been able to bring car burglaries from a high of 31,000 a year to this year,” said SFPD Captain Stephan Jonas, “(Now) we have less than 3,000 in San Francisco.”
The captain described that as a 90% reduction.
The department also says overall crime in San Francisco is down nearly 50% since 2023.
Police say drones are dispatched only after a crime is reported.
In real time, a car was reported stolen only to be spotted by a license plate reader. Pilots then deployed the aerial devices to track the car to the Mission District. As Jonas explained what was going on, the drones hovered over the reported stolen car and waited for plainclothes officers to get into position. After a suspect got out of the car, the officers pounced and arrested the person.
Jonas noted there was no high speed chase, and no shots fired.
The system is part of a broader shift toward technology-assisted policing in San Francisco, a city of 47 square miles that faces many of the same urban challenges as Seattle.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has been a strong supporter of the program. She said wanting public safety should not be treated as a partisan or racial issue, while acknowledging that safeguards are needed.
Jenkins said she is co-sponsoring legislation that would make it a crime for law enforcement officers to misuse or abuse access to the data.
“We have to prove that we can be trusted with it, and that starts with being transparent about what those guardrails are and being smart about it,” she said.
Former Seattle Mayor and City Council President Tim Burgess, who helped develop Seattle’s camera network, said San Francisco shows that privacy and public safety can be balanced.
“It’s possible to do that and still be successful in the use of those tools to apprehend people who are causing great harm,” Burgess said.
The system’s reach is limited, according to the San Francisco Police Department: The center accesses cameras operated by business improvement districts and community groups, and footage is generally reviewed after a reported crime. Live access is limited to emergencies or approved operations.
The department says the goal is to help officers respond and investigate without relying on high-speed pursuits. As the system expands, its effectiveness and the strength of its privacy safeguards will remain central to the debate over how cities use surveillance technology.
Source: komonews.com
