City Government

Oakland Council Limits Police Warrantless Searches of Parolees, Probationers

Published

6 years ago

July 14, 2019

The Oakland City Council this week unanimously approved a policy requiring officers to have a reason before searching someone who is on probation or parole.

The new policy, the first in the state, limits the right of officers to conduct warrantless searches of parolees and probationers without reason, which is currently allowed by state law, even during routine traffic stops.

The policy will not go into effect unless it is approved by Robert Warshaw, Oakland federal court-appointed monitor.

After the adoption of the policy, Council President Rebecca Kaplan said that Oakland must “ensure that OPD is not stopping and searching people unless there is a valid reason to do so. This policy can also help reduce racial disparities in policy and strengthen community-police relations.”

Police Commission Chair Regina Jackson said, “This policy content sends a message to the community that the Oakland Police will no longer presume our citizens’ engagement with criminal history…This is a huge step in the right direction concerning culture shift.”

Rashidah Grinage of the Coalition for Police Accountability called the council decision “a major victory for the Police Commission and a landmark reform in police practice in Oakland.”

The council debated two versions of the policy change on Tuesday – one proposed by the police department and a stronger one from Oakland’s police commission, which the council adopted.

Henry Gage III of the Oakland Coalition for Police Accountability supported the commission’s version, saying it “reduces the wiggle room that officers so often use to avoid discipline when the spirit of the policy is violated.”

Speakers supporting the new policy included four women from Urban Peace Movement, KD Dixon who works with All of Us Or None, and Youseef Elias from the AC Public Defenders Office, who provided important perspective for the commission’s draft.

“This is an amazing accomplishment by the Oakland Police Commission and the City of Oakland,” said Public Defender Brendon Woods, writing on Facebook.

“Happy that our office was able to contribute to this historic policy,” Woods said. “It will prevent Oakland police officers from arbitrarily stopping and automatically searching members of our community simply because they are on probation or parole.

“Too often, police use searches and detentions to target people of color. This policy will help eliminate public mistrust and result in a safer community for everyone. However, in order for the policy to have an impact, there must be consequences if it is not followed.”

Ken Epstien

Posts by Ken Epstien

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

Published

2 days ago

January 2, 2026

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

1 week ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

2 weeks ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.