Sheriff’s Office previews 18‑month bridge contract for real‑time information center; Board vote set for June 30

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office presented an informational preview of its Real Time Information Center (RTIC), describing an integrated system that combines automated license plate readers, pan‑tilt‑zoom cameras and a drone first‑responder program called Raven.

A Sheriff's Office representative said the RTIC uses a Flock OS platform to integrate LPR alerts, camera feeds and drone video so operators can provide situational awareness to deputies. The presenter described multiple recent case examples — including searches for missing persons, burglary and shooting investigations and recovery of stolen county vehicles — and said those examples illustrate the RTIC’s investigative utility.

The Sheriff's representative said the department will ask the Board to approve an 18‑month bridge contract to maintain existing services while staff develop and issue an RFP and complete a longer‑term procurement process. The presenter said the bridge contract is for the unincorporated area and is not intended to expand services beyond that area.

Transparency and safeguards: The presenter said the sheriff’s office has posted a transparency portal on its website with entries for drone flights (general location, date/time, flight path and call type) and an LPR data policy; the office also said it added contract provisions restricting data sharing (including with out‑of‑state federal searches), requiring prompt breach notification and asserting county control and ownership of the data. During the presentation the speaker characterized the technology as having produced statistically measurable reductions in crime in jurisdictions that use similar systems; that claim was presented by the presenter as departmental data and was not independently verified during the meeting.

Public reaction and questions: Several residents spoke in favor of continuing RTIC services in unincorporated Alameda County and credited the technology with solving or narrowing investigations; others voiced caution about drones and asked for more detail about tracking and public visibility. In response, the Sheriff’s representative explained that the transparency portal links flight records to CAD entries and that the portal omits exact addresses for privacy reasons; the presenter said drone cameras are generally oriented toward the horizon and repositioned only when responding to a call on scene.

Next steps: The presentation will be followed by a full Board consideration on June 30. The committee heard the item as informational and did not vote on the bridge contract at this meeting.