Oakland to vote on expanding use of license plate readers, surveillance

Oakland to vote on expanded use of surveillance cameras

The Oakland City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a proposal to expand the use of license plate readers and surveillance cameras across the city.

OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a proposal to expand the use of license plate readers and surveillance cameras across the city.

The measure returns to the council after members voted against a similar plan last month. 

The Oakland Police Department is again proposing the addition of 40 more Flock Safety cameras. The city currently has about 300 cameras in use, which have been operated by California Highway Patrol, by order of Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Some residents have raised concerns about how data collected by the cameras could be shared with federal law enforcement agencies, including immigration officers. 

If the council rejects the contract or opts to find another vendor, those 300 cameras would likely be removed, the East Bay Times reported.

Police officials say the data is not shared and argue the additional cameras would help solve crimes.

The East Bay Times reported that Flock wants to renew its $2 million contract.