The Surveillance State and the Erosion of Trust in San Diego

Revelations about the surveillance state are eroding trust in government and in law enforcement in particular.  Police officer involved deaths of civilians are also responsible. Setting the Ferguson incident aside, which details are murky; Eric Garner's death in New York and the death of Tamir Rices in Cleveland, both captured on video, cast doubt on the fairness and integrity of those police departments and the justice system.

Locally, this distrust played out in social media on my app, NextDoor,which allows people to connect with others in their neighborhood (the comments referenced below come from the Bay Park neighborhood news feed.)  Significantly on this app, anonymity is not allowed, which seems to improve on-line behavior.  SDPD Officer Hesselgesser posted an article about car break-ins by thieves capturing the key-fob signal. I applaud the SDPD for taking to social media in this way to work with the community.  But, subsequent commentary revealed the impact of the lack of trust.  Officer Hesselgesser advised against covering up the vehicle's VIN as a means of preventing thieves from getting fobs from the dealership. Some wondered why.

What's the valid, non big brother reason we should keep the VIN uncovered?

Asked Tom from PB in the comments.

Another interaction that reveals the mounting concern over surveillance comes from this posting about video cameras at a Balboa Ave. intersection.

At the intersection of Balboa Ave. and the Target store entrance driveway, there are 4 video cameras installed next to the hanging traffic signals. All 4 cameras are aimed toward the center of the intersection. Does anyone know why the cameras are there, and who is monitoring them?

And comments worrying about transparency:

I noticed those also. For sure those are video cameras. They are *not* traffic light sensors or Traffic Signal Preemption (TSP) sensors for emergency vehicles (turn traffic lights green). The TSP sensors don't look like cameras. That intersection is not on the 511 camera list: http://traffic.511sd.com/#cameras/search/layers=cameras
I'm guessing those cameras are for law enforcement against illegal use of Traffic Signal Preemption devices which are sold on the Internet. If you want to dig deeper, call councilmember Chris Cate's office and ask.

In case you are curious the cameras appear to be optical detection cameras to sense approaching vehicles and linked to the traffic light controls.

Cylindrical object is optical detection camera. (Source: WikiMedia Commons.)

Finally, there is the unresolved issue of how the San Diego police are using the cell phone tracking devices known as the Stingray.  (This stingray is much more pleasant.) The Stingray is a mobile cell phone device that masquerades as a cell phone tower, allowing law enforcement to get a suspect's (or average citizen's) cell phone to divulge information to the interceptor.  Because information on the operation of the device is being kept secret by the San Diego police, we have no way of knowing if bystanders or even love interests of officers, are under surveillance.  The Snowden revelations have made us realize that once a technology is in the hands of the government, it will likely be misused without oversight.

Law enforcement needs to be held to a higher, not lower, standard than the average citizen.  There should be consequences when the police don't live up to high standards, rather than the current culture that rallies the DA and fellow officers to get an exoneration.  Even when circumstances don't warrant prosecution, poor police conduct that results in the citizen deaths should be punished by dismissal.  Finally, local law enforcement needs to be transparent.  The San Diego police should release as much information about the Stingray that pushes the envelope of what the Justice Department has told them.  When they engage on social media, a good thing, they need to follow up on citizen's concerns.  Restoring trust that law enforcement is doing its job while protecting our constitutional rights will make us all safer.

Critical Mass and Mob Rule - San Diego

The news that a police officer was struck in the head by a screw driver yesterday, likely thrown by a bicyclist participating in Critical Mass, isn't really surprising to me nor to many others. While the goals of the Critical Mass bike movement appear laudable, raising awareness of the unfriendly nature of the urban street environment to bicycles, the mob nature of the event and flaunting the rule of law inevitably lead to instances of violence. I am sympathetic to the goals of the movement. When I lived in Vallejo, I biked to work every day, but suffered a severe shoulder injury because of the way railroad tracks were placed at the entrance to Mare Island. Another officer I worked with at the time was struck by a car on his bike ride home.

However, the lawlessness of the event and the holier-than-thou attitude of the participants is going to continue to lead to violence. Another incident occurred on June 29:

A stroll on the Mission Beach boardwalk turned ugly for a couple in their 50s Friday night when they got roughed up in a scuffle with some of the 500 bicyclists who once a month celebrate their right to ride by participating in what’s called a “Critical Mass.”

The couple were heading north on Ocean Front Walk after dinner and drinks when the cyclists came speeding up from behind. As one rider narrowly brushed past the wife, she shouted an obscenity and told him to slow down, her husband said Tuesday. The rider returned an obscenity of his own.

Then, the husband said, a second cyclist shoved his wife to the ground face-first, splitting open her chin.

It may be true that the pedestrians could have behaved better, but the violence initiated by the cyclists is irresponsible in the crowded situation. In response to this news article, Joe Cunha writes in a letter to the editor of the UT:

I have watched as many of these bicycle riders harass pedestrians, tourists, taxi drivers and anyone else who happens to be in their way.

I have watched these riders circle and terrorize the drivers and occupants of cars that have tried to get through an intersection while having the right-of-way, and especially if the driver has the audacity to honk their vehicle horn.

I am ashamed of what tourists to our city must think of think of this unlawful and disgraceful display of bicycle gang activity; I am ashamed of our vaunted police department for tolerating this anarchy; and I am especially ashamed of the bicyclists taking part in the ride that think this activity is within their rights.

It appears that the rule of law and its cousin, repsect for the rights of others, are being routinely violated by this movement. It matters to society, because the combination of lawlessness and mob mentality inevitably leads a minority of the participants to engage in threats and violence. If Critical Mass wants to claim they are a protest and be afforded police protection and have streets cordoned off, they should use the normal procedures for such requests. Instead, they violate the rights of others on the cheap. Further, the police are doing nothing about it.

A website critical of CM summarized it well:

Their mantra is that drivers need to “learn to share the road.” To anyone with half a brain this is laughable coming from a mob of people totally unwilling to share the road with anyone – even with pedestrians — who, by the way, are much more eco-friendly than a bike. If you are a cyclist, you are not even in the same league as a pedestrian when it comes to eco-friendly. However, as you will see, hypocrisy and CM go hand in hand.

Cyclists involved believe that it is their right to ‘take over’ the roads to show all the other simple-folk the true light about how evil they are for happening to be in their car the day these guys decide to put on their event. Of course, many of these people will be in cars themselves the next day, or even the day of the event, but once again the hypocrisy is lost on them. It is not uncommon for participants to actually bring their bikes to the event trapped onto their cars or in the backs of trucks!