Controversy brews over Oakland's police surveillance camera system

"On one side were activists opposed to the expansion of OPD's cameras. Before the meeting, activists gathered outside City Hall next to two massive handcrafted mock cameras. They argued that the push to increase surveillance in Oakland is based on misleading narratives about rising crime, although crime appears to have declined significantly for over a year in the city. They also argued the surveillance expansion will endanger immigrants and other vulnerable communities who are being targeted by federal agencies."

"During the privacy commission's meeting, several people urged the commission to not expand the camera system, and to also stop doing business with the company that makes the cameras, Flock Safety. "It's important to understand that since these technologies are capturing this data, it's not if but when it will get in the hands of federal agencies," Olivia Madison, an Oakland resident and member of the abolitionist organization Critical Resistance, told the commission."

"OPD's camera network is built around 290 automated license plate readers installed last year. The cameras take snapshots of passing vehicles and run the plates through law enforcement databases to determine if a vehicle is wanted for a crime. OPD's planned expansion would fold hundreds of privately operated cameras into this network. The Oakland City Council agreed to hire Flock Safety in 2023 to build out OPD's camera network when the city was in the midst of a crime surge."

Oakland moved to expand its police surveillance camera network. Recent reports that immigration agents may have accessed city camera data triggered public backlash. Dozens attended a meeting of the Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission to oppose the expansion and Flock Safety contracts. Activists argued the expansion rests on misleading crime narratives despite a year-long decline in crime and warned it would endanger immigrants and other vulnerable communities targeted by federal agencies. Speakers urged the commission to halt expansion and sever ties with the camera vendor. OPD's existing network centers on 290 automated license plate readers, and planned expansion would incorporate hundreds of privately operated cameras.

Read at The Oaklandside