In a bid to enhance public safety, Oakland city leaders are moving forward with plans to expand the city’s advanced surveillance network. This initiative follows the installation of nearly 300 automated surveillance cameras across the city to monitor vehicular movements.
The Oakland Police Department (OPD) has proposed a plan to integrate privately owned security cameras into its existing surveillance system, which already includes 290 automated license plate readers, or ALPRs. These sophisticated cameras are designed to capture vehicle details, including license plates, which can then be cross-checked against law enforcement databases to identify stolen vehicles or those linked to criminal activity.
Previously, citizens and local businesses could voluntarily share their camera footage with the OPD by registering on a city website. However, the lack of an operational system made it cumbersome for officers to access this data; they often had to request footage post-incident.
With the installation of Flock’s automated license plate readers in 2024, OPD aims to optimize the sharing of surveillance data not just within the department but across other law enforcement jurisdictions throughout California.
“We would basically be upgrading that system to integrate cameras from community businesses, potentially public cameras, and then a number of cameras that the department would potentially own and operate in the city of Oakland in public areas, particularly commercial areas,” explained OPD Acting Lieutenant Gabriel Urquiza during a Privacy Advisory Commission meeting on June 5.
For this proposed expansion to take effect, both the Privacy Advisory Commission and the Oakland City Council must approve a governing policy outlining how OPD can access, store, and utilize data from these private cameras.
A scheduled Privacy Advisory Commission meeting on July 3 was canceled due to a lack of quorum, prolonging the discussion on the proposal and its implications.
Business improvement districts in Oakland have emerged as strong advocates for providing OPD with more access to surveillance data. Savlan Hauser, who leads the Jack London Business Improvement District, voiced support for the initiative, stating that it would standardize the way merchants share their data with OPD. Some business districts have established extensive camera systems, which have been credited with aiding in crime resolution, including homicides.
The Koreatown Northgate business improvement district, also known as KONO, recently reported a 40% decline in crime over the past two years, attributing this reduction in part to its camera system, which comprises 100 cameras at 11 locations, funded by a city grant.
Hauser remarked, “The sentiment of the community is this is the right direction,” highlighting the broad support for the initiative among local stakeholders.
Despite the enthusiasm, concerns have been raised regarding potential misuse of the surveillance network. Privacy advocates fear that increased monitoring could inadvertently lead to information being shared with federal agencies like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Urquiza reassured the commission that OPD does not allow sharing of camera data collected through the system for immigration enforcement purposes. “That’s something we will not be using the devices for or supporting any kind of investigation related to immigration status,” he affirmed.
Moreover, Urquiza clarified that the proposed system would provide one-way access, meaning merchants could not access OPD’s database; they would only contribute to it.
However, some representatives from various business improvement districts expressed their willingness to enter into agreements ensuring that their data will not be shared with ICE.
There remain significant uncertainties about the proposal, particularly regarding the total number of cameras that could eventually be incorporated into OPD’s system. Oakland maintains a web portal to promote transparency, listing all searches made through the Flock surveillance system. It remains uncertain whether this audit will detail searches conducted on merchant cameras integrated into the system.
Privacy Commissioner Brian Hofer highlighted parallels between the current proposal and past initiatives, specifically recalling the controversial Domain Awareness Center (DAC) project. In 2013, Oakland’s fire and police departments sought to establish a comprehensive city-wide surveillance network comprising over 700 cameras in public spaces. The initiative faced fierce opposition from residents and privacy advocates, prompting city officials to refocus efforts solely on the Port of Oakland, ultimately leading to the establishment of the Privacy Advisory Commission.
“Ten years ago, this conversation started in Oakland, and now we’re back,” Hofer noted, reflecting on the cyclical nature of surveillance debates in the city.
Flock Safety, the provider of the license plate reader technology, has expanded its clientele to include thousands of cities and law enforcement agencies nationwide. Its system is promoted for its functionality, allowing law enforcement to access data from Flock cameras located in other jurisdictions. Moreover, OPD has recently extended access to its Flock camera data to police departments in East Palo Alto, Belmont, Moraga Hill, Santa Rosa, and Brisbane, while denying access to agencies in Dublin and Novato.
California prohibits local jurisdictions from sharing data with out-of-state law enforcement agencies, including federal authorities. Oakland has implemented additional safeguards, barring its data from being shared with law enforcement agencies pursuing investigations against individuals seeking reproductive health care.
In jurisdictions lacking such restrictions, Flock cameras have been misused to track vulnerable populations. A recent report highlighted how Texas authorities conducted a nationwide search across over 83,000 ALPR cameras in search of a woman reportedly involved in a self-administered abortion. Similarly distressing are reports indicating that local police across the nation are making “immigration” related searches to aid ICE investigations.
Flock CEO Garrett Langley has taken steps to comply with restrictions in California by disabling the “National Lookup” function in the state and a few others. Hofer commended OPD for its refusal to share data with California jurisdictions that contravene state law concerning data requests, yet he warned of the potential for information misappropriation.
“The thing is, police just don’t ever want to put any friction points to data requests from other police,” Hofer cautioned.
He further noted the risks involved, emphasizing that requests for data may not always be transparent and could mask ulterior motives.
“This whole thing about using proxies to do your search for you, that’s as old as time,” Hofer asserted. “We’ve got public records going back 20 to 30 years of ICE using local police to do their dirty work, to do the searches for them.”
image source from：oaklandside
