Q&A
Staffing concerns for comprehensive audits of surveillance technologies
0:39:14
ยท
78 sec
Council Member Brewer raises concerns about staffing for comprehensive audits of rapidly changing surveillance technologies. Commissioner Strauber addresses the challenges and limitations of their current staffing situation.
- Strauber clarifies that evaluating every instance of use for over 80 surveillance technologies is not realistic with current staffing
- DOI focuses on identifying significant thematic concerns and technologies of greatest public concern
- Strauber believes they have sufficient staffing to comply with POST Act requirements as they've interpreted them
- Brewer mentions ongoing efforts to increase staffing for the agency during budget seasons
Gale Brewer
0:39:14
An ongoing theme of the city council is staffing.
0:39:17
And, obviously, when you're talking about, these technology instances changing all the time, do you have enough staffing to do the kind of comprehensive audits that we've been talking about?
Jocelyn Strauber
0:39:29
Well, look, I wanna be very clear here that to the extent that the post act purports to require our office to evaluate with respect to over 80 surveillance technologies whether every instance of use by the police department complies with each IUP, that is that is not a realistic task.
0:39:46
I don't think we have the staffing to do that.
0:39:48
I'm I'm frankly not sure, that that is a good use of the resources we have.
0:39:53
I think what we have done is we've identified significant thematic concerns like the grouping issue, and we have also used our annual reporting obligation, which we do have sufficient staffing to meet, to identify technologies that that we think are of greatest public concern and to provide transparency about those and recommendations where necessary.
0:40:14
So while I I always quarrel with the amount of staffing we have, I think we do have sufficient staffing to comply with the post act requirements in the way that we've interpreted them.
Gale Brewer
0:40:23
I want my colleagues to know that every budget season, we fight for more staffing for your agency, period.
0:40:30
That's a different topic.
Jocelyn Strauber
0:40:31
I know that, and I thank you for that.
Gale Brewer
0:40:32
We're gonna keep doing this.