The Oakland and San Francisco police departments may have violated a state law by sharing data from licence plate reading cameras with federal law enforcement.
The San Francisco Standard investigation found both departments shared data for inquiries with seven federal agencies, including the FBI.
According to the Standard, the San Francisco Police Department reportedly searched OPD’s database on behalf of the FBI, DEA and the ATF, among others. The OPD shared information at the request of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Under a decade-old state law, California law enforcement agencies are barred from sharing data from automated license plate reading cameras with out-of-state or federal authorities.
Attorney General Rob Bonta reaffirmed the law in a notice to state police agencies two years ago.Both SFPD and OPD issued statements saying they were reviewing the information reported by the Standard.
