Berkeley police hear concerns as they consider expanding Flock Safety cameras, adding drones

Berkeley police hear concerns as department considers expanding Flock Safety cameras

Berkeley already has 52 fixed Flock cameras installed throughout the city that function as automated license plate readers.

BERKELEY, Calif. - Berkeley police are weighing an expansion of their Flock Safety camera program, including the addition of more fixed license plate readers and the possible use of drones, as community members raise concerns about data collection and access.

The department hosted a community meeting Wednesday to gather public input as it moves closer to submitting formal proposals to the City Council.

What they're saying:

Berkeley already has 52 fixed Flock cameras installed throughout the city that function as automated license plate readers.

Police leaders said the technology could help address staffing shortages and improve safety.

"It’s an exciting time to look at the technologies that can support, especially because of the severe staffing crises that we are seeing," said Berkeley Police Chief Jennifer Louis.

Louis said any decision must balance public safety with privacy protections.

"I have to make decisions that are best for our community, best for safety, best that uphold our values and our privacy," said Louis.

San Francisco police currently use the drone camera technology, which officials say has helped combat crime, including burglaries and sideshows, in real time.

Berkeley police said drones could allow officers to monitor situations from a distance, prioritize de-escalation and make arrests more safely. 

"We are able to identify, build a criminal case against someone who is committing a crime and then safely identify where they are, and often follow them away from that location and apprehend them in a safer way," said Louis.

Berkeley’s fire department also said drones could be useful during fires.

The other side:

But several residents expressed concerns about how video data would be stored, who could access it. 

"It’s about trusting the purpose of this and the eventual use of this, because again, as we see, especially now in this country, things are being abused," said Berkeley resident Maria Sol.

Louis said access to the data would be tightly controlled.

"That information is only available to those outside of our police department on a case-by-case basis, with them providing a law enforcement purpose that fits within our use policies, and that would have to be vetted by us before we release it," said Louis.

Another resident raised concerns about whether information could be shared with federal immigration authorities, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Louis emphasized Berkeley’s sanctuary city policies.

"We are a sanctuary city. We follow state law and we believe very deeply in our sanctuary city policies, which is we do not gather and share information to federal agencies for the purpose of immigration enforcement," said Louis.

Big picture view:

The discussion comes as other California cities reevaluate their use of Flock Safety. This week, the Santa Cruz City Council voted to terminate its contract with the company, citing concerns that data could potentially be accessed by out-of-state agencies.

Berkeley police said they plan to safeguard their own data.

"We are a sanctuary city. We follow state law, and we follow and believe very deeply in our sanctuary city policies, which is, we do not gather and share information to federal agencies for the purpose of immigration enforcement," said Louis.

The department expects to submit a proposal to the City Council in February for additional fixed Flock cameras. A separate proposal for drone cameras is expected to be submitted in March.