Overview
- The City Council voted 7–1 to authorize a roughly $2 million, two-year contract with Flock Safety.
- The agreement keeps about 290 automated license-plate readers in operation, permits up to 40 pan-tilt-zoom cameras, and enables integration of private cameras into FlockOS.
- Amendments add bans on sharing with immigration authorities or for out-of-state reproductive or gender-care investigations, require a two-key approval for new data-sharing, mandate quarterly independent audits, and order an RFP within 18 months.
- The path to approval followed a Public Safety Committee deadlock and a Rules Committee fast-track, alongside resignations from Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission and a lawsuit alleging improper data sharing.
- OPD defends the system as an investigative tool, reporting 232 arrests, 68 firearms recovered and a drop in carjackings since deployment, while opponents cite reports of federal queries and recent shutdowns or limits in Richmond and Santa Cruz.