Vallejo surveillance board approves new privacy policy for mobile security towers
Vallejo surveillance board approves new privacy policy for mobile security towers
Publish Date: 2026-02-20 14:43:00
Source Domain: www.vallejosun.com
VALLEJO – Vallejo’s Surveillance Advisory Board approved a use policy on Thursday to manage surveillance footage recorded by new mobile security camera towers to be placed around the city.
The board voted unanimously to approve the policy, one month after requesting minor changes to the first draft. The Vallejo City Council approved purchasing the towers last July for $500,000, and the board has since then weighed the growing public concern about sharing the data they collect with the companies which manage the cameras and the potential that could be shared with federal immigration enforcement officials.
The cameras are manufactured and operated by LiveView Technologies, a Utah-based video surveillance company. The portable, elevated security systems are equipped with cameras and sensors and often used at big box stores to catch car break-ins and theft. The company said in its report to the board that its technology has led to a “70% decrease in parking lot incidents, 62% fewer violent crimes and 69% reduction in grab-and-go theft.”
The cameras are being placed around Vallejo, although the city has not provided a list or map of locations where they will be recording and collecting footage. The city committed to spend the funds on two security cameras and purchase up to five more, according to the staff report Thursday.
The approved policy made minor language changes to the previous draft, such as that the footage collected by the tower cameras may be accessed for “legitimate law enforcement purposes,” including training, investigative research, crime analysis and media relations. It also states that the towers cannot be intentionally used to invade people’s privacy or to observe areas where people “have a reasonable expectation of privacy.”
The policy also requires that footage be purged after 30 days “unless it has become, or it is reasonable to believe it will become, evidence in a criminal or civil action or is subject to a…
