Oakland police hit with lawsuit for sharing license plate camera data with feds

"It's the second time Oakland has been sued by Secure Justice, a nonprofit led by Brian Hofer, a former member of Oakland's volunteer Privacy Advisory Commission. Hofer's group first sued the city in September 2021 for allegedly breaking SB34, a state law that bars local police from sharing automated license plate reader data with law enforcement agencies outside of California. The Oakland Police Department was also accused of violating its own rules about sharing license plate reader data."

"License plate reader camera networks are powerful surveillance systems that automatically capture information about passing vehicles, including license plates. Oakland's existing system includes approximately 290 cameras around the city that indiscriminately scan 48 million vehicle plates each month, according to Secure Justice. Under the department's current policy, OPD is supposed to follow a multi-step process when other law enforcement agencies want to access and search OPD license plate records."

"But Hofer claims OPD hasn't followed its own rules and has been in breach of last year's settlement. Hofer said the problem has become dire because of the way the Trump administration wants to use license plate reader data to carry out its mass deportation program, and the desires of some political leaders in Republican-led states to enforce strict anti-abortion laws. Third-party access logs for OPD's database show millions of searches by external agencies, according to the lawsuit."

A state court lawsuit alleges the Oakland Police Department repeatedly shared automated license plate reader (ALPR) data with federal and out-of-state agencies in violation of California law SB34 and OPD rules. Secure Justice previously sued Oakland in September 2021 and settled in early 2024 with OPD agreeing to follow its own rules and state law. Oakland's ALPR network reportedly includes about 290 cameras that scan roughly 48 million vehicle plates monthly. OPD policy requires a multi-step approval process for external access, but third-party access logs allegedly show millions of external searches and claimed ongoing breaches amid federal deportation and anti-abortion enforcement concerns.

Read at The Oaklandside