OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- The Oakland Police Department will begin encrypting its radio communications on Wednesday, cutting off access to the public and media to protect community and officer safety.
Motorcyclist killed after running red light in Oakland, police sayThe decision to encrypt the radio channels follows a policy from the California Department of Justice requiring the encryption of personal identifiable information transmitted over police radios.
Brian Hofer, chair of Secure Justice, opposes the move, stating, "I think from an optics perspective it's certainly bad news."
State Senator Josh Becker, who has attempted to pass legislation to prevent limiting radio access, said, "This is about accountability, it's about transparency, it's about restoring access to something that the public has had via the media for 60 years."
Hofer, who helped create the Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission and served on it for nine years, argues that the police department should focus on increasing transparency, especially after being under federal oversight for racial profiling issues.
Photo: KRON4 News.He believes that the department is doing the opposite of earning the public's trust by encrypting the communications, stating, "We've got a troubled past and we need to earn the people's trust so by going dark we are doing the exact opposite of what we should be trying to do."
Hofer suggests that police could use code words or other methods to communicate sensitive information without going completely silent.
State Senator Becker highlights the example of the California Highway Patrol, which has protocols to protect personal information while still providing information to the public.
KRON4 reached out to the Oakland City Administrator and Police Officer's Association for comments but did not receive a response in time for the report.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published.
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