Opinion: Keeping Californians and Their First Responders Safe: Pass SB1000

Medium.com
Citizen Blog

California is the center of the world when it comes to using technology for the public good and as the most used public safety app in California and the country, depended on by over 12 million users, we are proud to be a part of it. That’s why we have been working closely with both transparency groups and law enforcement to responsibly address how California brings its emergency response infrastructure into the 21st century. As law enforcement begins to remove their radio channels from public access and encrypt them, we believe that SB1000 authored by Senator Josh Becker provides a model that will establish California as a first in the nation leader on how to protect our first responders and tactical information while ensuring responsible transparency in order to keep Californians informed and safe.

As a leader in responsible transparency we feel that SB1000 strikes the correct and reasonable balance. It clearly protects sensitive information such as personally identifiable information or tactical movements from needing to be made accessible and provides multiple avenues for law enforcement agencies to make other communications available to the public. Indeed, many law enforcement agencies such as the California Highway Patrol have already made the necessary changes at little or no cost.

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