Flock license plate scanner contract postponed by Alameda County leaders

Alameda County officers are questioning whether or not to approve a contract extension with a controversial surveillance firm till they hear from Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez.

The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to submit a proposal proposed contract extension with Flock Security, a Georgia-based firm that sells automated license plate reader cameras and different surveillance know-how utilized by legislation enforcement to trace automobiles.

The province already has Flock cameras. County leaders authorized a contract with Flock in June 2023 to cowl unincorporated elements of the county with greater than 100 license plate readers. Final April, the board agreed to pay for Flock’s pan-tilt-zoom cameras, which permit the sheriff’s division to observe pedestrians, automobiles and extra. In July, the board signed a A $600,000 annual contract with Flock for the AeroDome system, which stations drones at sheriff’s services the place they are often deployed in beneath a minute. The board beforehand prolonged the settlement with Flock till June 2025.

The newest proposal would lengthen Flock’s work with the province by means of June 2026, making the extension largely retroactive. Based on one memo filed by Sheriff Sanchez, ALPR know-how has been used to arrest violent criminals, recuperate stolen automobiles, and has led to a “important lower in violent and general crime.”

Nevertheless, Supervisor Elisa Márquez, who made the movement to delay the board’s choice, mentioned she and her colleagues have questions for the sheriff, noting that it is a “very delicate and controversial matter.” The sheriff did that posted answers on-line to the supervisors’ questions.

Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas echoed Márquez, saying there are considerations in regards to the federal authorities’s potential potential to entry Flock information and use it towards weak communities, together with immigrants.

Concern that ICE may get its palms on Alameda County’s Flock information

Flock cameras are blanketing the Bay Space, and Oakland not too long ago authorized a brand new contract for its almost 300 cameras that permit OPD to trace automobiles as they transfer by means of the town, and pan-tilt-zoom cameras. However Flock has seen a backlash in smaller cities in latest weeks, as residents and officers query whether or not the corporate and police are doing sufficient to guard the huge quantities of information the cameras accumulate.

At Tuesday’s assembly, about two dozen residents urged the board to not approve the contract. One couple famous that the board not too long ago authorized creating “ICE-free zones” on county property.

“Why would Alameda County select to proceed investing within the surveillance infrastructure that will likely be weaponized towards our immigrant neighbors, well being care seekers, and advocates and activists standing up for our communities?” requested Rebecca Gurney, member of East Bay Sanctuary Treaty.

Brian Hofer, who heads a nonprofit group, goes by the title Safe justice and beforehand served on the Oakland Privateness Advisory Fee, the board warned that the Alameda County Sheriff is abusing SB 34, the California legislation that prohibits native legislation enforcement businesses from sharing license plate reader information out of state, and that doing so exposes the county to important authorized legal responsibility.

“Rejecting this contract at the moment is just not solely an moral selection, additionally it is a good choice,” Hofer mentioned.

Hofer additionally raised considerations about Alameda County permitting police departments to take part in federal legislation enforcement 287(g) program to entry the information it collects. The 287(g) program replaces native legislation enforcement to help federal brokers with immigration enforcement and deportation. Most states have legislation enforcement businesses taking part in this system, however California and a handful of different states have banned their police from taking part.

Based on Hofer, Alameda County has granted roughly 337 member businesses within the 287(g) program entry to the Flock information and performed tens of hundreds of searches. In a single blog postHofer mentioned searches have been performed by the Walton County Sheriff’s Workplace in Florida. Walton County legislation enforcement has been helping different businesses within the effort, in accordance with information stories sending detained immigrants to the notorious detention heart ‘Alligator Alcatraz’.

Final 12 months, Hofer and a number of other different privateness commissioners raised considerations a couple of proposed contract between Flock and the town of Oakland. Hofer later resigned from the fee and sued the town in November, arguing that OPD repeatedly broke the legislation by sharing Flock information with federal authorities. Hofer’s lawsuit adopted a report by the San Francisco Commonplace that San Francisco police had gained entry to the Oakland system mined data for federal law enforcement opposite to state legislation.

Representatives of Flock Security acknowledged that the corporate does not offer ICE with direct entry to the cameras. As a substitute, native businesses, not Flock, determine who can see their information.

Some Alameda County residents assist extra Flock cameras

Eight residents spoke out in favor of extending the Flock contract throughout the Supervisory Board assembly on Tuesday. They urged the administration to make extra instruments accessible to native legislation enforcement and famous the widespread use of the know-how in different jurisdictions.

“We do not have sufficient our bodies, so now we have to depend on know-how,” mentioned Brenda Grisham, an activist who helped recall Alameda County District Lawyer Pamela Value.

A handful of Flock supporters who spoke Tuesday additionally mentioned they consider license plate readers needs to be used to focus on immigrants.

A resident named Jackie Cota mentioned Flock would assist the sheriff’s workplace arrest “legal unlawful trespassers preying on our residents.” She additionally praised the thought of ​​the federal authorities turning FCI Dublin right into a “detention heart for unlawful intruders.” Experiences final 12 months mentioned federal officers had achieved so toured the former women’s prison in Dublin to see if it might be transformed into an immigration detention heart, however that effort has apparently made no progress.

Mindy Pechenuk, a Republican working for mayor of Oakland, mentioned the cameras assist police clear up crimes.

“Proper now, with the quantity of crime and the folks being killed and injured due to unlawful immigration – let’s name it what it’s – now could be the time to resolve these circumstances for the authorized residents of Oakland and Alameda County,” Pechenuk mentioned.

Most crime and immigration research have discovered that immigrants, together with undocumented immigrants, commit fewer crimes on average than American citizens.

Backlash towards Flock in some smaller Bay Space cities

Some Bay Space cities have minimize ties with Flock or develop into brazenly important of the corporate after discoveries about data-sharing practices.

Final week, Tiburon’s police chief acknowledged in an electronic mail that 23 businesses performed a whole bunch of doubtless unlawful federal searches of their license plate reader database, together with for immigration enforcement, police mentioned. Tiburon Ark. The police chief known as these searches ‘unacceptable’.

Richmond shut down its Flock system in December after officers discovered that license plate reader information had been by accident made searchable by exterior businesses. Based on Richmond sidea Flock consultant first notified the Richmond Police Division that this information sharing characteristic was energetic. Town’s contract is up for renewal in February.

Santa Cruz terminated his contract with Flock earlier this 12 months, with Metropolis Council members citing tensions with ICE and weak public belief within the firm.

Mountain view disabled the Flock cameras in late January after police revealed that a whole bunch of legislation enforcement businesses had accessed ALPR information in violation of metropolis coverage. Mountain View officers additionally alleged that Flock enabled a “nationwide lookup device” for a number of months in 2024 with out notifying police.

Different cities within the area have moved ahead with contracts over the objections of civil liberties advocates. Berkeley has a community of Flock automated license plate readers and can take into account renewing this contract later in 2026. Town’s police division mentioned there are sufficient guardrails to maintain Berkeley’s information secure. However opponents talked about a recent incident the place California Freeway Patrol and Southern California police may search the town’s system for phrases like “ICE” and “CBP.”