SFPD looks at easing camera requirements for liquor licenses

In a debate between security and civil liberties, the San Francisco Police Department is considering scaling down their electronic surveillance requirements for establishments seeking liquor licenses, but privacy advocates at City Hall aren’t satisfied yet.

Supervisors Scott Wiener and David Campos recently objected to liquor licenses requiring cameras at entry points and outside the premises, and ordering owners to retain the footage for 30 days to turn over the police if requested. The requirements were seen by some as a backhanded way to increase surveillance after a police proposal two years ago  insisting that all entertainment venues have security cameras was derailed by privacy concerns.

New language drafted by police still requires that new liquor licenses in high-crime areas install cameras. The difference would be that recordings would only need to be turned over when “requested as evidence in a criminal investigation” instead of “upon demand.”

“We met with them and they agreed that they need to come up with a more case-specific approach instead of a broad policy of requiring electronic surveillance,” said Wiener, who has said he’s worried about cameras potentially outing patrons at gay bars.

But with almost half the city classified as a “high crime area,” Wiener is still not happy with police generally recommending cameras in all cases since their Alcoholic Beverage Control Liaison Unit was formed in 2010.

“I think it needs to be case by case, there needs to be a specific reason why cameras are needed there,” Wiener said. “We’ll just keep talking with them.”

Deputy Police Chief John Loftus said cameras, especially in nightclubs, are crucial for combating violence and keeping patrons safe, and noted that the state’s ABC has the final say on liquor license requirements.

“This is a process, we go back and forth,” he said. “Our primary issue all the time is public safety.”

Neal Riley