Council split on giving new crimefighting tech to Sheriff’s Department

West Hollywood City Council on Monday narrowly approved new technologies for the Sheriff’s Department including a drone-as-first-responder program, a real-time watch center and fixed real-time cameras throughout the city.

The upgrades, long in discussion, were designed to bolster the city’s public safety profile in a manner similar to Beverly Hills, known for its extensive system of public monitoring. Council’s decision seals the deal on their implementation, allocating $750,000 from the general fund for the improvements.

Vice Mayor Chelsea Lee Byers and Councilmember Sepi Shyne voted against the measure, citing insufficient public outreach and a lack of community engagement. Byers noted only three people showed up to speak during public comment on the item.

“I don’t take that for full consent buy-in, but I take it for not truly noticing or knowing what is coming before the council,” Byers said. “We are focused on making sure that we’re including as many people as possible in these conversations, and given our role tonight in effectively normalizing this very complicated technology in our community, I frankly feel very uncomfortable with doing that without a broader level of conversation in the community.”

The city was recently criticized for not publicizing its push to build bike lanes, which Byers referenced during her comments. 

Shyne, who wanted to postpone the upgrades until 2024, argued the situation is different in West Hollywood than it is in Beverly Hills or Santa Monica, which have their own municipal police departments.

“Because we contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, we don’t have the same level of control,” Shyne said. “By virtue of our contract, our hands are off, and that provides a different level of duty to our residents to make sure they fully understand what’s happening.”

The drone program is a pilot program intended to last one year. If successful, it may be extended, but it can be halted at any time by the Council if concerns arise. This drone pilot will be limited to responding to service calls, with all flights recorded from start to finish for accountability. The drone will also map crime scenes and traffic accidents, which can significantly reduce the time needed to reopen intersections. Additionally, the drone can be set to record only the sky until reaching its destination to help de-escalate situations and provide real-time information, then revert to sky recording before returning. Digital signage at at least some of the city’s entrances will notify the public that drones are in use, City Manager David Wilson said.

The proposal to add drones, cameras and the watch center to the sheriff’s toolbox was first presented to Council nearly a year ago. Even then, Shyne was skeptical of the sheriff’s authority over the program and its cost, while Councilmembers Lauren Meister and John Heilman were highly in favor.

“I think anything that makes our community feel safer is what we should be doing,” Meister said. “We have the money to do it. We’ve discussed this publicly many times, and I feel like we just keep pushing it. I think we should at least try it. If we don’t like it, then sell the equipment to Santa Monica.”

Heilman was concerned with protecting the people as well as their privacy.

“The LGBT city of freedom has cameras in every LGBT bar, so every time you go into The Abbey or to Rocco’s or any other LGBT establishment, there are cameras monitoring you inside that establishment,” Heilman said. “So my point is that we need to keep the people who are LGBT who are coming here, we need to keep them safe. And the problem is, right now they’re getting robbed on the street, they’re getting hassled on the street, they’re being subjected to hate crimes. Giving the sheriffs the technology to prevent that and to catch the perpetrators is what we’re talking about tonight.”

While harboring some reservations, Mayor John M. Erickson chose to proceed with the upgrades. 

“The reason I support cameras in the public realm is a couple of things,” Erickson said. “We’re already being surveilled; people are watching us right now. I know it doesn’t make it right or wrong, but I would rather err on the side of caution. Regarding the drone, I do share privacy concerns. However, I think I’m willing to go down the path of caution and try it for people. I’ve spoken with my counterparts in Beverly Hills, and I know it’s a different environment. What it looks like is different from city to city, but I do agree with that, and I share the concerns. We’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t.”

Erickson and the other councilmembers took great heat over their decision two years ago to slash the sheriff’s budget, and with Election Day on the horizon, the mayor is under pressure to show he has adequately addressed safety concerns in WeHo. 

On Monday night, he had City Manager Wilson state on record that the measure is “one of the largest single investments that the city’s really been making in public safety over the last few years.”

“There will be instances in the next few months where people say the city does not care about public safety,” Erickson said. “That’s a bald-faced lie meant to scare people. I hope people understand that it’s not the time to scare people but to come together and know we’re taking these things seriously. I think we are showing good results. Part one crime is down, part two crime is down. We still have issues — every city does. But the fear-mongering I’ve seen over the last few years and months, and I think will continue over the next several months, is misleading.”