{"id":3522,"date":"2026-07-01T20:15:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T20:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3522"},"modified":"2026-07-01T20:15:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T20:15:41","slug":"alameda-county-extends-flock-safety-contract-amid-worries-over-surveillance-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3522","title":{"rendered":"Alameda County extends Flock Safety contract amid worries over surveillance network"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>The Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved a one-year $2.4 million contract extension for Flock Safety surveillance technologies with the Sheriff\u2019s Office in a 3-2 vote Tuesday, despite opponents\u2019 warnings of contract loopholes that could put the region\u2019s immigrant community at risk.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3520\">Friend of Warriors\u2019 Butler indicted as part of federal gambling investigation; Butler not named<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez defended the value of surveillance technologies for law enforcement in the county\u2019s rural communities, arguing the new contract with Flock Safety addressed several privacy concerns \u2013 even as the contract limits liability and penalties for data breaches.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s just a lot here that warrants a lot more discussion for something of this magnitude under a Trump administration that is clearly not serving the best interest of our communities,\u201d said Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, who voted against the contract.<\/p>\n<p>The contract extends the use of Flock Safety\u2019s automatic license plate readers, AeroDome drones, operating system, and data network at the Sheriff\u2019s Office through June 30, 2027. The county has had a rolling contract with Flock Safety since July 2023 as the surveillance technology has been rapidly adopted by cities across the country.<\/p>\n<p>According to Sanchez, these technologies multiply the Sheriff Office\u2019s law enforcement capability in the county\u2019s unincorporated areas, allowing deputies to respond to incidents more quickly. In one incident on June 8, Flock automatic license plate readers tracked five stolen county vehicles and helped deputies locate them within 12 hours, the Sheriff\u2019s Office said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s critical for public safety operations. It\u2019s critical for unincorporated areas that rely on Alameda County Sheriff\u2019s Office to provide law enforcement services to them,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cWe are still short staffed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Flock Safety has become a lightning rod for scrutiny by privacy advocates like the Electronic Freedom Foundation and Secure Justice. In February, the city of Mountain View canceled its Flock Safety contract after a police audit revealed the company had allowed unauthorized access to the city\u2019s camera data by federal law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n<p>As recently as June, Alameda County camera data has been accessed by out-of-state entities, a violation of Senate Bill 34, a state law restricting California law enforcement agencies from sharing data with out-of-state and federal agencies. Sanchez said the deputies who provided that access have been removed from control of Flock Safety data.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3518\">SJSU professor fired for pro-Palestinian activism sues university<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe fact it was only last week that the sheriff found the violation is a damning indictment,\u201d said Tim MacKenzie, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America in the Bay Area. \u201cIt\u2019s also no solace that there are more frequent audits. Even with the audit, we cannot be certain that our data is not being used for immigration enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The contract with the county stipulates that Flock Safety is liable for such breaches of personal identifiable information, but sets a maximum cap of liability as the total amount of money the county has paid within the last 12 months.<\/p>\n<p>During negotiations, Flock Safety refused to agree to a \u201cliquidated damages\u201d provision, which would specify an exact monetary penalty for privacy violations. Instead, the county demanded Flock Safety take out insurance policies in the event of data breaches.<\/p>\n<p>With the Flock Safety contract in place, the Alameda County Sheriff\u2019s Office is putting together a competitive bidding process to find a new law enforcement surveillance company, but that may take 12 to 18 months to complete, according to Sanchez. In the meantime, the county will continue to operate with Flock Safety.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>While supervisors expressed apprehension at renewing an imperfect contract, Board President David Haubert and Supervisor Nate Miley said Flock Safety\u2019s benefits to public safety, especially in the large unincorporated areas, was too important to abandon without a replacement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we don\u2019t have this in the unincorporated area, it\u2019s going to be left without these cameras. And for me, that will impact public safety and I can\u2019t support anything that will affect public safety,\u201d Miley said. \u201cI would not be doing my job if I left folks without this technology.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3516\">New California laws taking effect July 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alameda County approves contract extension with Flock Safety<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3521,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Alameda County extends Flock Safety contract amid worries over surveillance network - 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