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…