Berkeley council delays vote on expanded surveillance package after hours of public opposition

Berkeley City Council on March 24 began a contentious hearing on a proposed public-safety technology package that would consolidate license-plate readers, fixed cameras, private 'community video' feeds, investigative software and drones under a single vendor agreement. After more than four hours of public comment and multiple council supplementals, councilmembers agreed to continue final action to a special meeting on June 2, 2026.

The package, presented by the police department as a Real Time Information Center designed to speed investigations and extend limited staffing, would renew the city's automated license plate reader (ALPR) contract, add a drones-as-first-responder program and integrate several feeds under investigative software the department said would improve situational awareness. Police and business representatives said the tools help solve crimes, reduce time to arrest and compensate for staffing shortfalls.

But the Police Accountability Board (PAB) and scores of residents urged a pause. Leah Wilson, vice chair of the PAB, told the council the board recommends deferring action on all surveillance items until staff produce a consolidated acquisition report analyzing the combined privacy and operational impacts of an integrated system. "The combined capability — querying a plate, pulling camera footage and dispatching a drone in real time — creates a privacy impact categorically different from the sum of its parts," Wilson said.

PAB members flagged procurement and legal concerns, saying the MSA and acquisition reports failed to document vendor selection criteria and contained provisions that could leave the city exposed. The board identified what it described as 30 material issues in policies and contract language they had only 24 hours to review.

Multiple community organizations, immigrant-rights advocates, civil-liberties groups and residents told the council they feared the vendor — Flock Safety — had a documented history of enabling out-of-state or federal access to data and had not proven it would safeguard Berkeley data. "Flock has repeatedly concealed, altered and mishandled data practices," one speaker said. Several speakers urged the council to reject Flock outright or require far stronger contractual remedies and verification before moving forward.

Councilmember-supported supplementals offered a range of changes: higher penalties for unauthorized data sharing, a termination-for-convenience clause that would allow the city to walk away, limits on vendor use of anonymized data, and monthly audits and reporting in early operation. Councilmember Ben Bartlett presented a detailed set of contractual edits including explicit council approval of any post‑award changes to the vendor platform and a private right of action for affected residents.

Police leaders said the proposed master services agreement includes data‑ownership protections, encryption and audit trails and that contractual redlines proposed by staff were accepted by the vendor in negotiation. The department highlighted past cases in which ALPR data reportedly produced leads and arrests.

Councilmembers debated whether contractual changes could realistically prevent future misuse and whether the city's sanctuary commitments could be preserved while working with a vendor that faced widespread scrutiny in other jurisdictions. With dozens of speakers remaining and multiple supplementals on the table, the council voted to continue the item to June 2 to allow more time for review, to take additional public input and to refine contract terms and use policies.

The continuation leaves in place the city’s existing ALPR arrangements for the near term but postpones a decision on adding drones-as-first-responder capability, community-video integration and the umbrella MSA. The council signaled it will ask staff to produce a consolidated acquisition report, incorporate PAB recommendations on audits, retention and oversight, and explore alternatives to sole-source or single-vendor dependency.

Council action is now scheduled for a special meeting on June 2, 2026, when members said they hope to have more time to vet contract language and address the PAB’s and community’s concerns.