Oakland PD denies sharing license plate data with ICE

(KRON) — The Oakland Police Department has hit back at a report that it was sharing data from automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras with federal immigration enforcement agencies. The report, published in the San Francisco Standard Monday, stated that “Oakland cops gave ICE license plate data,” going on to say, “Oakland Police fulfilled a request related to an ICE investigation on one occasion.”

According to the Standard, “One search by the California Highway Patrol of the OPD’s system on April 22 is listed as an ‘ICE case,’ with no clarification.” 

However, Oakland PD has slammed the reports as “misleading,” saying they “do not accurately reflect the Oakland Police Department’s data-sharing agreement with other California and local law enforcement agencies.”

“To be clear, no member of the Oakland Police Department was involved in this alleged sharing of ALPR information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” OPD posted on Facebook.

OPD, the post went on to say, began using its current ALPR system in July of last year. The system, according to the department, “has become a valuable tool in helping our officers solve crimes more efficiently, locate homicide and robbery suspects, and recover firearms.”

The department went on to say it shares ALPR data with “more than 80 California local and state law enforcement agencies.” However, in accordance with Senate Bill 34, a decade-old measure that prohibits state law enforcement agencies from sharing license plate reader data with federal entities, and the California Values Act, which prohibits agencies from using resources for immigration enforcement, OPD maintains it does not share data with ICE.

“In compliance with city policy, OPD does not enforce or assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in enforcing civil immigration law violations,” OPD said. “Additionally, ALPR data captured within the City of Oakland shall not be used in violation of Oakland’s Sanctuary City Ordinance.”

The Standard’s report also alleges that the San Francisco Police Department illegally provided ALPR data to ICE. SFPD has yet to issue a public response to the report.