‘Surveillance maximalism’: SFPD uses camera technology Israelis used to track Palestinians

The San Francisco Police Department has purchased surveillance technology that has been deployed by Israeli authorities to monitor Palestinians in East Jerusalem.

SFPD’s version of the software does not include facial recognition tools.

“Without BriefCam, SFPD investigators will be limited to labor-intensive manual review processes, which hinders the department’s ability to reduce violent vehicle-based crimes and dismantle organized crime networks.”

“We don’t have any tools that use facial recognition technology,”said Evan Sernoffsky, a spokesperson for the department.

Guariglia said that while San Francisco led the charge in banning facial recognition, law enforcement often finds workarounds.