Santa Cruz police hold safety meeting for Latino community
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) Police in Santa Cruz are sharing growing concerns after an increase in gun violence targeting Latinos in the city.
The Police Department is planning a meeting to address the issue and discuss a tool officers believe will help prevent the shootings.
They will be introducing the possibility of using license plate reader technology. Investigators believe having a reader in place would help them solve recent shootings on West and East Cliff Drive and assist with future shooting investigations.
"There are concerns about privacy with the use of this technology, but this tool is purely for investigation," said Det. Leo Gomez with Santa Cruz police. "We have this uptick in violence in the Latino community, so it's important we pay attention to that and find innovative ways to investigate.
Police and community leaders will host the Latino community gun violence meeting Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Nueva Vista Community Center on Leibrandt Avenue. It will be a bilingual presentation, and attendees are encouraged to ask questions about public safety issues in the Latino community.
The city of Santa Cruz is not sold on the idea of license plate readers. The city is discussing whether police should be able to access those forms of surveillance to solve crimes.
