1 .A. FY 2026 Proposed Operating Budget - Pasadena Police DepartmentREFF <«-/ -...
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Please find below my comments regarding the Pasadena Police Department^{:>f3G)^fY-^0^6jpr8p(%$d operating budget.
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Privacy is Safety C}TYC3"nsl^'*t
For the upcoming fiscal year, the police department stated its intent to purchase more surveillance equipment, including additional license plate reader cameras and establishing an "Active Intelligence Center". It kind of sounds like a real-time crime center, or constant surveillance, like what goes on in communist countries like China. I did not agree to live in a communist or nanny state and do not agree to the massive expansion of surveillance in Pasadena.
In the past, the council has pitted privacy against public safety, by saying that police wilt get all the tools they need to ensure public safety. However, you have created a false dichotomy, in which you are saying that in order to have safety, we must give up privacy - which is incorrect. Privacy is public safety. And by forcing us to give up one for the other, we will have neither privacy nor public safety.
I understand that we may have different beliefs or positions on privacy. However, the fact is that when you took this office, you made an oath to uphold our privacy, enshrined in both the constitution's fourth amendment - protecting us from warrantless searches and seizures - and enshrined in the California constitution, article one, section one which says "All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy".11n the current political climate innocent Americans are being surveilled for things like exercising their right to free speech and literally being picked off the street and disappeared. A federal worker whistleblower was stalked with the aid of drones, had threatening messages left with sensitive personal information after they complained about DOGE stealing and leaking sensitive data from within the National Labor Relations Board.2
This is an especially dangerous time for you to deprioritize our privacy and in essence, our safety.
My organization is sponsoring 3 privacy bills including AB 1337 expanding the Information Practices Act to apply to local governments agencies as well as updating privacy to meet with today's technologies. We are supporting a couple hundred privacy bills, including the California Police Chiefs' Assoc/at/on's own privacy and national security protection bill relating to the use of drones.3 All that to say that many of the state's politicians are actively working hard to strengthen our privacy and if you don't, you would, unfortunately, be in the minority.
Privacy prioritization reduces Pasadena's risk to cybersecurity risks and ransomware attacks Hand in hand with privacy is cybersecurity, and all these systems will make Pasadena more vulnerable not just to constituents' safety and privacy, but exposing the city to liability, cyberattacks and ransomware which in turn will result in loss of productivity, stifling services and costing millions -lhttDS://leainfo.legislature.ca.aov/faces/codes disDlavSection.xhtml?lawCode=CQNS§ionNum=SECTION%201.&artic l£5!
2httDS://aizmodo.com/whistleblower-reDortedlv-stalked-bv-drone-followinq-docie-comDlaint-2000589538 3 httDS://leainfo.leaislature.ca.aov/faces/bitlNavClient.xhtml?bill id=202520260AB1160 1 .A. FY 2026 Proposed Operating Budget - Pasadena Police Department of dollars. Municipalities are increasingly being hit with cyberattacks, like Azusa PD,4 Gait PD,5 Modesto PD,6 Oakland PD,7 San Bernardino County Sheriff,8 and of course the LA Superior Court system which affected Pasadena court less than a year ago.9 According to research, between 2018 and 2022, government entities were hit with 330 ransomware attacks, at a cost of $70 billion in downtime alone.10 Of those attacks, 72 were revealed, totalling $36.5 million, and governments paid millions to hackers. Furthermore, on average, government organizations lost nearly three weeks of downtime.11
Active Intelligence Center (AIC)
The Pasadena Police Department needs to clearly articulate what exactly is this "Active Intelligence Center". If the AIC is a program for the Olympics, there must be assurances of the limited scope of use and that ft will not remain in Pasadena after the conclusion of the Olympics. This cannot be an excuse to significantly further expand surveillance in Pasadena.
The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance states:
"Using RTCC (Real Time Crime Center) resources to manage large-scale security events can present similar challenges and sometimes can result in overly aggressive policing. As a result.^QSStJyely. engaging the community, including the most challenged neighborhoods, other components of the criminal justice system, public and private businesses. local politicians and leaders, religious organizations, school systems, advocacy aroups, and others prior to launchina an RTCC would be advisable. In some communities, where privacy is more valued and police intrusions more carefully scrutinized, establishing an RTCC is unlikely. In other locations, part of the infrastructure may be in place already, and law enforcement can simply expand on what exists. Regardless, engaging stakeholders before you start recording their activities, capturing their license plates, or monitoring their citizens, is an important step that will further sustain the agency's legitimacy and trust."12 It is n: longer acceptable for the Council to purchase now, and policy later - without public input.
Shotspotter (AKA SoundThinking13) is ineffective and should be discontinued The disappointing performance of Shotspotter in Pasadena is in-step with other cities across the nation who are finding that this gunshot detection technology does not deliver on its promises, is unreliable, ineffective, resource intensive and a threat to civil liberties. Independent reporting which analyzed the data revealed that PPD's responses to Shotspotter alerts led to dead ends 75% of the 4 httDS://azusaDd.ora/news-releases/azusa-Dolice-deDartment-Drovides-notification-of-data-securitv-breach 5 https://www.Qovtech.com/securitv/ransomware-attack-locks-data-in-northem-california-town.html 6 httDS://cvbernews.com/news/oakland-modesto-ransQFnware-attack-old-school-Dolicina/ 7httDS://www.nbcbavarea.com/news/local/oakland-Dolice-union-ransomware-attack/3197074/ 8 httDS://www.aovtech.com/securitv/san-bernardino-countv-calif-Davs-1m-over-hack 9 httDS://www.dailvnews.com/2024/07/22/la-suDerior-courts-closed-todav-followina-ransomware-attack/ 10 httDS://www.sfchronicle.com/eastbav/article/oakland-s-ransomware-attack-unusual-17829514,phe 11 httDS://www.comDaritech.com/ransomware-attack-maD/
'l2httDs://bia.oiD.aov/sites/a/files/xvckuh186/files/media/document/RealTimeCrimeCenterlnformation.Ddf 13httDS://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/bav-area-crime-tech-firm-shotsDotter-rebrands-as-stock-tanks-with-new-chicaao-mavor/ar-AA19 JDbq
1 .A. FY 2026 Proposed Operating Budget - Pasadena Police Department time and spent 285 hours responding to alerts.14 Those are resources that are pulled away from doing other police work.
Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR) violate civil liberties While PPD was proactive in tightening the data retention policy for ALPR, the use of these devices is problematic and it is concerning that the department plans to install more. In addition to the privacy concerns, this opens the City to additional liability and potential litigation. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled this past February that a constitutional lawsuit challenging the use of license plate readers can move forward,15 and more lawsuits are likely to follow. Given the City's increasing general liability problem, this should be given special consideration and attention.
Pasadena needs to better manage Police Department general liability FY 2021FY 2022FY 2023FY 2024FY 2025FY 2026
Police
Department
1,197,197
(+89.7%)
1,565,875
(+30.7%)
3,285,750
(+109.8%)
2,963,906
(-9.7%%)
N/A*TBD*
ir^iPAVA D E N A
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
DOING BUSINESS v LICENSES v FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS v
Recommended Budget 2026
4t • Operating Budgets • Recommended Budget 2026
By SectionBy City DepartmentAffiliated Agencies Key Performance Indicators Appendices No files available
Pasadena PD's general liability is ballooning significantly, according to the City "Cost of insurance and General Liability continues to experience large increases annually". In comparison with other City departments, Pasadena PD is an outlier with the amount of increasing costs year over year. In conjunction with the City Attorney Office, PPD should provide City Council and the public with the underlying information that is at the root of these increasing premiums. Pasadena City needs to articulate what it has done (aside from consolidating the general liability management function under the City Manager's Office) and what it plans to do to reign in PPD general liability risk. lAhttDS://knock-la.com/data-shows-shotsDotter-leads-tQ-dead-ends-and-wasted-resources-in-Dasadena/ 15httBSL//ii.ora/Dress-release/iudae-rules-lawsuit-challenaina-norfolks-use-of-flock-cameras-can-Droceed/ 1 .A. FY 2026 Proposed Operating Budget - Pasadena Police Department *The City website does not transparently show general liability information, or is unavailable.
Did Pasadena apply for the CalOES Public Assistance for Government Entities? The CalOES Public Assistance program16 provides financial assistance to government entities to help repair, replace or restore damaged public infrastructure and facilities, following a federally declared disaster or emergency. Did Pasadena apply for this or other similar government assistance to aid with the repairing damaged City infrastructure like the Pasadena training facility near Eaton? And if not, why not?
Pasadena City Urgently Needs to Establish a Privacy Program The City need not wait for a legal mandate, and 1 ask that you proceed with adopting a privacy program with resources and at least one staff - which I know is a difficult ask at this time, but really must be done given that the police department is proposing massively expanding its surveillance technology and the health department's new software platform which will handle very sensitive information. This should include transparency, accountability and oversight.
Moviif forward, know that every decision that comes before you with privacy implications, you have the cluice to strengthen our privacy and safety, or to erode it. Privacy and public safety are not mutually exclusive, privacy is safety.
If there is enough funds to cover costs of police operations, then other important public programs like health and housing should be adequately funded as well.
Yadi
Pasadena Public Safety Committee
May 7, 2025
Pasadena Police Department FY 2026 Operating Budget
•l£httDs://news.caloes.ca.aov/cat-oes-hosts-aDBlJcants-briefinas-for-aovernment-entities-seekinq-ianuarv-firestorm-financial -assistance/