Santa Clara County passed the first surveillance transparency ordinance in the United States on June 7, 2016. They remain the only county in the nation to have a surveillance oversight law in effect. (The others are in cities or regional transit districts).
So how is it working? This video snippet from the Board of Supervisors May 12 meeting is a look at an acquisition with use policy and impact report brought before the Supervisors for approval, before the technology is acquired.
The Board of Supervisors requests and gets a clear explanation of how the technology works, more explicit statements in the policy about prohibited uses, and clarification about the job titles with data access, as well as expressing the Board’s concerns about possible misuse. All in 13 minutes, including a public comment.
County sheriffs have often been resistant to surveillance oversight. We hope this snippet shows that the adoption of these ordinances and compliance with them leads to better informed elected officials, greater public trust, clearer policies, and thinking about possible problems of misuse before they happen.