Oakland installs controversial license plate readers to deter speeding

After much debate and despite strident opposition, Oakland installed Flock cameras this week at 18 locations, making it likely that if you drive through the city, your license plate will be scanned — possibly multiple times — and stored in a database. 

In a 7-1 vote, with Councilmember Carroll Fife dissenting, the City Council entered into a $2.25 million contract with Georgia-based Flock Safety on Tuesday, despite objections from residents and civil liberties groups, and cautions from privacy experts. 

Oakland’s Public Safety Subcommittee had deadlocked on the contract in November after three hours of public comments from over 140 speakers, most of whom opposed Flock surveillance technology. But the Rules Committee bypassed the 2-2 vote and moved the item to the full council.

Recent reports of information from Flock plate readers being shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement has reignited opposition to the company and its technology, especially with ICE’s growing presence in American communities leading to tension and violent encounters.  

“We believe this Flock contract will put Oakland immigrant residents in grave danger,” Lisa Hoffman, co-executive director of East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, an immigration advocacy group, said at the Nov. 18 subcommittee meeting. 

Oakland’s two-year contract allows the Police Department to maintain its current 293-camera Flock surveillance system, according to the city’s website. 

Mayor Barbara Lee and Public Safety Committee Chairperson, Councilmember Charlene Wang, were among the city and business leaders who unveiled the Automated Speed Safety Program during a news conference by a newly installed camera on on Broadway, near 27th Street,  Friday morning. The program aims to improve traffic and pedestrian safety by issuing citations to deter speeding drivers .

“Traffic safety is public safety,” Lee said. “And so, with this program, we’re actively addressing speeding to save lives.” 

For 60 days, speeding drivers will only receive a warning, as the community acclimates to the technology. Official speeding tickets, with discounted amounts for low-income and drivers who receive public benefits, will be issued when the adjustment period expires in mid-March. Revenues will support traffic safety initiatives, Lee said. 

Protecting pedestrians

Proponents of the program point to some data showing public safety has improved since cities have installed Flock cameras. One of the most significant benefits is protecting pedestrians, Walk Oakland Bike Oakland President Chris Hwang said at the news conference. Even a 10 mph speed difference can be crucial in surviving a vehicle hit, she said, adding that camera systems have been an effective deterrent to speeding. 

The cameras are just one aspect of Oakland’s effort to make streets safer and more accessible for pedestrians, Hwang said. 

Flock’s computer-controlled, high-speed camera system scans every license plate that passes its vantage points. The plate number, in addition to the time, date and location of the scan are recorded and stored in a central server accessible to law enforcement. The cameras can be at intersections, on light posts, on top of police vehicles and in covert spots, from traffic cones to cacti. 

The city has a contract with Arizona-based smart transportation company Verra Mobility to help execute the program. At the news conference, Will Barnow, Verra Mobility’s vice president of strategic partnership, emphasized Flock cameras’ role in public safety, saying, “These are not surveillance cameras. These are cameras that are only used for the purpose of slowing folks down and saving lives.” 

Josh Rowan, interim director of Oakland Public Works, said the system will only be triggered when it detects a speeding vehicle. 

These claims are disputed by some research. In 2019, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which champions civil liberties in the digital world, analyzed data from over a billion license plate scans across 82 agencies in California, finding that nearly all of the captured plates were not actively involved with law enforcement investigations. 

That information is the basis of a lawsuit filed by EFF and the American Civil Liberties Union against San Jose. The organizations allege that San Jose’s system violates the rights to privacy and to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures enumerated in the California Constitution.

Thousands of law enforcement agencies across the country have partnered with Flock Safety to help solve crimes amid budget cuts and understaffing.

Wang praised the system’s expansion in Oakland and urged state lawmakers to go further in supporting the technology. 

“I am just so glad that this is happening,” she said. “I also actually want to call on our state legislators to allow us to install more cameras, OK? Eighteen is not enough.”

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