ALPR surveillance

Organizer with SIREN demanded a three-minute data retention guardrail and cited 1,256 federal-agency searches in Redwood City allegedly violating state sanctuary law.

Thirty-year resident asked the council to hold off on any new surveillance contract until promised community forums are completed, and to bar any vendor with immigration-enforcement ties.

Attorney with Safety over Surveillance said the city's license plate reader data has been shared with over 100,000 monthly users, including federal immigration agencies, and urged the council to protect residents from the system.

Police advisory committee member speaking as a resident said vendors monetize residents' location data, Flock enabled unauthorized out-of-state searches, and four of six PAC members recommended against continuing the program.

Urged the city to follow Half Moon Bay and other cities in ending surveillance contracts, or at minimum impose strict guardrails on data ownership, deletion, and AI use.

Called for judicial warrants for all plate searches, vendor fines for data leaks, an independent auditor, and said the only safe data is data never collected.

New resident urged the council to weigh whether approving a surveillance contract used by ICE is consistent with protecting community rights.

Senior Affairs Commissioner speaking personally, an immigrant, said ALPR cameras have helped ICE track and detain families and described fear in his Lincoln Avenue immigrant neighborhood.

Senior Affairs commissioner speaking personally; warned of surveillance parallels to El Salvador and fears that data could be shared to endanger Salvadoran neighbors facing TPS termination.

Urged the council to cancel the Flock ALPR contract entirely, not just seek a new vendor, citing over 100,000 monthly data searches.

Urged town halls and an independent council response before acting on the grand jury report, quoting its findings on weak audit controls.

Psychologist and professor raised mental-health and trust harms of surveillance and urged protecting vulnerable communities.

Safety Over Surveillance member urged the council to solicit and incorporate public input into its grand jury report response on license plate readers.

Self-described undocumented resident claimed credit for defeating Flock in 12 jurisdictions, demanded cancellation of Flock, Axon, and Skydio contracts and a surveillance town hall, and was warned about staying on topic.

Immigrant rights advocate said the city must hold at least two accessible town halls and disclose past data-sharing problems before responding to the grand jury report.

Longtime privacy advocate cited data hacks and misuse in other cities and urged the council to act now on surveillance concerns.

Speaking in Spanish, expressed concern about losing control of personal data and images collected by surveillance cameras, and hacker risks.

Police Advisory Committee member speaking personally urged a town hall and a tailored, Redwood City-specific grand jury response, agendized for October 26.

Former prosecutor and civil rights attorney detailed grand jury findings on inadequate audits and data-security gaps, and urged listening to the community before approving any police department letter.

Zoom commenter said the camera program contradicts the city's welcoming-city claims and worried about hacking and immigration enforcement misuse.

Menlo Park resident urged the council not to send a form-letter response and to weigh whether a vendor is needed at all.

Longtime homeowner asked for two accessible town halls, a tailored council letter, and noted overwhelming community opposition to new surveillance programs.

Asked the council to pause the surveillance contract process, review the grand jury report in a public hearing, and hold town halls.

Asked the council to reject surveillance camera bids and address the civil grand jury's findings on weak oversight of the city's camera system.