Santa Cruz becomes first U.S. city to approve ban on predictive policing

By NICHOLAS IBARRA | nibarra@santacruzsentinel.com | Santa Cruz Sentinel
PUBLISHED: June 23, 2020 at 6:25 p.m. | UPDATED: June 24, 2020 at 10:21 a.m.

SANTA CRUZ — After fostering the development of predictive policing technology a decade ago, Santa Cruz on Tuesday became the first city in the U.S. to approve a ban on its use.

Both predictive policing and facial recognition technologies are set to be barred from use by Santa Cruz police under a closely watched ordinance unanimously approved by the City Council, which will return to the council Aug. 11 for final adoption.