DEMONSTRATORS FROM TWO community groups gathered near Oakland City Hall on Tuesday afternoon to voice their support and opposition, respectively, for a proposal to expand the use of automated license plate recognition camera systems in the city.
An Oakland City Council Public Safety Committee meeting scheduled later Tuesday at City Hall to discuss and vote on the proposal was postponed because of a lack of quorum.
Automated license plate recognition, or ALPR, camera systems automatically capture vehicle license plates as they drive by. The footage is then stored and can be used in conjunction with law enforcement databases to assist in the investigation of crimes.
Oakland started using ALPR cameras, often called Flock cameras after manufacturer Flock Safety, in 2024. There are currently 293 such cameras in use in the city, according to OPD’s Flock Transparency portal.
Now, OPD wants to expand its surveillance by adding more cameras of its own, as well as integrating cameras owned by private businesses into its Flock network. The proposed cost of this expansion is $2.25 million.
On Tuesday, the Coalition for Community Engagement — a group of residents, business owners, and community organizations — voiced its support for this expansion, calling the technology an effective tool to deter and solve crime in the Bay Area. The coalition comprised representatives from the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, Asians Unite, and Save Alameda for Everyone, the group that led the recall of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.
“I’m a big proponent of using crime prevention and technology because if you can deter crime from occurring, then you don’t have to engage in a high-speed chase,” said Edward Escobar, the founder of the coalition. He noted that the cameras are essential for law enforcement, given the shortage of police officers in Oakland. In April, the Oakland City Council released a study that revealed that OPD has 199 fewer sworn officers than the recommended baseline of 877.
But opponents of the proposal raised concerns about federal agencies using ALPR camera data to pursue and apprehend individuals.
“The Oakland Police Department and Oakland Police Officers’ Association have been waging this fearmongering, disinformation campaign since the success of the ‘Defund [OPD]’ campaign messaging,” said Cat Brooks, executive director of the Anti-Police Terror Project, the police watchdog group demonstrating against the proposal at City Hall on Tuesday.
She said she fears that federal authorities might use the ALPR data to target pregnant women coming to California from other states to seek reproductive care or abortions, out-of-state individuals seeking gender-affirming care, and undocumented immigrants.
“Mass surveillance has never worked out well for anyone,” she said.
Oakland city law and California state law prohibit OPD from sharing this data with federal authorities to apprehend immigrants or people seeking reproductive care. In July, media reports alleged that Oakland police had, in fact, shared ALPR data with ICE on at least one occasion. In response, police published a press release stating that “no member of the Oakland Police Department was involved in this alleged sharing of ALPR information” with ICE.
In its meeting held Oct. 2, Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission voted 4-2 against approving the latest ALPR proposal. The City Council Public Safety Committee will now vote on the proposal at its meeting rescheduled for Nov. 18.
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