Council member seeks citizen oversight of ALPR and surveillance; request fails to gain support

Council member Pryforce urged the council to create a citizen oversight committee on surveillance technology focused on automated license-plate readers (ALPR) and related camera networks and asked Emeryville Police Department leadership to present a policy review. Pryforce argued the city should adopt stronger civilian oversight, audit logs and explicit prohibitions on data-sharing with federal immigration authorities. "We must not allow Emeryville's ALPR system to become a pipeline for federal immigration enforcement or unaccountable policing practices," Pryforce said. The nut graf: Pryforce requested two future-agenda items: (1) establish a citizen oversight committee to review ALPR and camera use, data-sharing agreements, retention and audits; and (2) direct the Police Department to present a report and recommended policy updates aligned with state audit recommendations and best practices. Both requests failed to gain council support. Council discussion included clarifying questions about existing prohibitions. Chief Jennings approached the dais and confirmed that California law and department policy restrict sharing ALPR data for immigration enforcement, referencing the California Values Act and SB 34. Pryforce referenced local policy Lexipol 4.2.9 and California Civil Code 1798.905 during his remarks; staff said they would verify policy language on the transparency portal. Ending: Both future-agenda motions failed to receive a second or majority support; staff and the police chief agreed to confirm existing policy provisions and transparency-portal materials on ALPR use and data-sharing.