Public Safety Committee
November 18, 2025
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Floyd Mitchell
City Administrator Chief, Oakland Police
Department
SUBJECT: SUPPLEMENTAL – OPD Community
Safety Camera System, and Flock
Contract
DATE: November 12, 2025
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That City Council Adopt A Resolution:
(1) Approving The Oakland Police Department Surveillance Use Policy “DGO I-32.1 – Community safety Camera System” And The Acquisition Of Security Cameras And Related Technology;
(2) Awarding A Two Year Agreement To Flock Safety For Acquisition Of Automated License Plate Reader And Pan Tilt Zoom Cameras, Operating System Technology, And Related Services At A Cost Not To Exceed Two-Million Two-hundred Fifty-Two Thousand Five-Hundred Dollars ($2,252,500); And
(3) Waiving The Competitive Multiple-Step Solicitation Process Required For The Acquisition Of Information Technology Systems And Waiving The Local And Small Local Business Enterprise Program Requirements
REASON FOR SUPPLEMENTAL
Councilmember Brown submitted three questions to OPD regarding DGO I-32.1 and the Flock contract. She requested that the questions be addressed in a supplemental report. The responses are below:
Research & Competitive Analysis
OPD conducted assessments related to multiple platforms that operate as a video management system (VMS) or ALPR system. There are only two vendors that have a platform that can support the type of ALPR management, VMS interface, mapping, and support for additional integrations, at the scale necessary for the City of Oakland. The two platforms available are Axon’s Fusus platform (https://www.axon.com/products/axon-fusus) and Flock Safety’s Operating System. These two platforms are comparable to each other related to capabilities, privacy considerations, and auditing capabilities.
Flock ALPR has already been installed within Oakland and Flock OS has been the selected vendor by many of our local partners, including the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, San Francisco PD, San Leandro PD, Berkeley PD, Hayward PD and many other Bay Area agencies.
This allows for agencies to take a more regional approach to addressing violent and disruptive
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: SUPPLEMENTAL – OPD Community Safety Camera System, and Flock contract Date: November 12, 2025 Page 2
Public Safety Committee
November 18, 2025
crime. SFPD has been a regional leader in pursing technology related to public safety, and members of OPD have worked closely with them to assess how different technologies have worked (or not worked) in their experience. OPD has similarly worked with ACSO in their assessment of the Flock Operating System and the use of Flock ALPR and PTZ.
Moving away from this operating system would also require the City to fund the replacement devices and their installation. This would be extremely costly in terms of both funding and time.
In a vacuum, if the City did not already have an ALPR system in place, Flock Safety still would be the vendor of preference based on the use of the system by our local partnering agencies and its demonstrated success throughout the Bay Area.
Federal Subpoena Obligations
Are we, as a City, obligated to respond to federal subpoenas for information collected or retained through Flock systems?
When Flock has received legal orders (e.g., Search Warrant, Subpoena, Court Order) they have forwarded legal orders to the agency that has ownership over the data, unless otherwise prevented by law. Customers own the data collected by Flock devices, and have the opportunity to provide a legal challenge, seek to intervene, or otherwise respond to these legal orders.
Excerpt from proposed - IT PSA (relevant section underlined) e. Distribution or Sharing of City Data:
Notwithstanding any other law or provision of this Agreement, Contractor shall, during its provision of Services to City as called for hereunder, take all steps necessary to assure that all City Data resulting from its Services is kept confidential and disclosed only with the prior written permission of the City by an authorized representative: (1) only to Contractor’s Employees and Subcontractors with an absolute need to have access to the City Data to perform the Services under this Agreement and who have executed Exhibit 7 hereto with Contractor sufficient to enable Contractor to comply with the requirements of this Section 4, with Contractor remaining liable for any breach of this Section 4 by its Employees and Subcontractors; (2) to the City Project Manager for such dissemination as the City Project Manager, in its sole discretion, determines should be made; or (3) as required by law and consistent with OPD’s Surveillance Use policy, attached as Exhibit __. If legally required to do so by warrant, subpoena, court order, or similar judicial authority (“legal order”), Flock may access, preserve and/or disclose the Footage and/or City Data to law enforcement authorities, government officials, and/or judicial officers, To the extent legally permissible, Flock will use its best efforts to notify City in writing within 24 hours of receipt of such legal order, or as far in advance of the response date as possible, if Flock receives such a legal order, so that City may, at its own expense, seek to timely intervene or otherwise respond.
Verification of Vendor Claims
Please provide a brief summary of how OPD has verified Flock Safety’s recent compliance upgrade claims—such as the addition of search filters related to immigration and reproductive rights, audit enhancements, and proactive misuse-detection tools.
OPD has conducted “keyword” queries through audits of outside agency searches using terms related to Immigration Enforcement (e.g., “ICE”, “CBP”, “Immigration”, etc) since the implementation of Flock Safety’s search upgrades. Using these keywords, OPD has not located additional searches using the “keyword” search terms that were queried. OPD will continue to randomly audit outside agency searches, and search data for prohibited keyword searches.
OPD has also requested that Flock require that outside agencies be required to utilize OPD’s structured search terms, which limit searches to those within OPD policy. This work is ongoing.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: SUPPLEMENTAL – OPD Community Safety Camera System, and Flock contract Date: November 12, 2025 Page 3
Public Safety Committee
November 18, 2025
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That City Council Adopt A Resolution:
(1) Approving The Oakland Police Department Surveillance Use Policy “DGO I-32.1 – Community safety Camera System” And The Acquisition Of Security Cameras And Related Technology; (2) Awarding A Two Year Agreement To Flock Safety For Acquisition Of Automated License Plate Reader And Pan Tilt Zoom Cameras, Operating System Technology, And Related Services At A Cost Not To Exceed Two-Million Two-hundred Fifty-Two Thousand Five-Hundred Dollars ($2,252,500); And
(3) Waiving The Competitive Multiple-Step Solicitation Process Required For The Acquisition Of Information Technology Systems And Waiving The Local And Small Local Business Enterprise Program Requirements
For questions regarding this report, please contact Lt. Gabriel Urquiza at gurquiza- [email protected].
Reviewed by:
Dr. Tracey Jones, Police Services Manager
OPD, Research and Planning
Prepared by:
Gabriel Urquiza
A/Lieutenant, OPD
Real-Time Operations/Ceasefire