As crime continues to be a major problem in Oakland, more license plate readers could soon be installed across the city. But not everyone is convinced it will work.
Agave Uptown was one of many business hit by crime in downtown Oakland. Just last month, the restaurant was burglarized before sunrise, with thieves stealing more than $10,000.
“We must do something about that. Because like i said, people are afraid to dine in with us now,” said Osvaldo Sanchez, owner of Agave Uptown.
On Thursday night, Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission overwhelmingly approved a proposal by police to install 300 flock safety cameras around the city. The proposal now heads to City Council for discussion.
The cameras can be used to help police track down criminals in real-time and will be strategically placed at certain hot spots where crimes take place.
"There's robberies in our city, burglaries, shootings, catalytic converter thefts, everything,” said Lt. Omar Daza-Quiroz with the Oakland Police Department.
However, some commissioners did express some concerns when it comes to surveillance, from privacy issues to making sure the information is being used accurately by the police department.
“Because we don’t want to just put any old information in the system and officers yank the wrong people out of a car for the wrong thing,” said Oakland privacy advisory commissioner Robert Oliver.
Police say all information will be thoroughly vetted, and just like other cities using the cameras, a transparency website is available to the public with information on the usage of the cameras.
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For Sanchez, he welcomes anything at this point. But he isn’t too sold on the cameras making a huge difference.
“They install the cameras, and it stops like that? But on the other hand, if something happens, are they really going to follow up on it?” he said.
