Board approves 15‑month pilot letting SFPD access private camera feeds with new reporting rules

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Sept. 20 approved an ordinance directing the Police Department to adopt a surveillance‑technology policy that allows the department limited live access to privately owned security cameras and requires quarterly reporting and a city evaluation of the pilot program. The measure passed after amendments, 7‑4.

The ordinance requires the Police Department to restrict live monitoring of non‑city cameras to narrow circumstances and to submit quarterly reports; the board also attached a 15‑month sunset so supervisors can review whether the policy reduced crime or led to civil‑liberties harms. The board added a direction that the Budget and Legislative Analyst undertake an independent city evaluation of the pilot’s efficacy following the reporting period.

Supporters said the ordinance provides accountability and a limited, transparent path for the department to use privately owned footage in time‑sensitive situations. “Absent chapter 19B, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Supervisor Peskin told colleagues, describing the ordinance as an extension of the city’s transparency rules for surveillance technology.

Opponents warned the measure still allows…