LAPD has been approved to fund its expansion of surveillance as part of Project Blue Light, a $15.65M investment in more LAPD surveillance technology, under the guise of tackling “organized retail crime.” Funding is being provided from the State Budget Act of 2022 Organized Retail Theft Prevention Grant Program.
Project Blue Light will run from October 1st, 2023 - June 1st, 2027, and details on the grant can be read here. It was approved by the Board of Police Commissioners on December 5th, 2023. Specifically, the Board approved “for LAPD to negotiate a contract with Peregrine System for a real-time decision and operation management platform, to be implemented from whenever the start of contract is until Dec 31st, 2026.” The project will be rolled out in stages, with Quarterly and Bi-Annual reports to the BOPC. Justice and Security Strategies (JSS), the same contractor that worked with LAPD to legitimize Body Worn Video (BWV) cameras and to create and implement Operation LASER, is being paid to evaluate the program.
LAPD wants access to 10,000 cameras—including ones owned by private residents and streams from police helicopters—and will use systems including Peregrine, Fusus, and Compstat at its $1 million Real Time Crime Center (RTCC)s dubbed “LAPD Live.”
Image description: Businesses that partner with police in Project Blue Light will indicate that partnership and surveillance monitoring with a sign (that they have to pay for). Image source: Highland Park Michigan runs a Project Blue Light program.
In July 2024, the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition filed a PRA with the LAPD for information on Project Blue Light, as well as additional information. The PRA is still open.