Controversy brews over Oakland’s police surveillance camera system

Earlier this summer, Oakland was moving forward with a plan to expand its network of police surveillance cameras. But recent reports that immigration agents may have been able to access Oakland’s data in a few cases have triggered backlash.

On Thursday, dozens of people showed up for a meeting of the Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission, a volunteer body that helps the city regulate how it uses technology.

On one side were activists opposed to the expansion of OPD’s cameras. Before the meeting, activists gathered outside City Hall next to two massive handcrafted mock cameras. They argued that the push to increase surveillance in Oakland is based on misleading narratives about rising crime, although crime appears to have declined significantly for over a year in the city. They also arg