Will the 200 cameras now operating and recording on East Bay freeways help reduce crime?
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Just after 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, CHP shut down Southbound 880 near downtown Oakland to look for shell casings.
The CHP confirmed to ABC7 News that around 7:30 a.m., a suspect fired off one round on a victim, who was driving on the freeway and then fled. The victim was not injured and was able to safely exit the freeway.
The CHP tells ABC7 News there is no known motive, but that it will likely use the cameras on the freeway to help in the investigation. Authorites said a 19-year-old male suspect was arrested and booked into Santa Rita Jail for attempted murder, shooting at an occupied vehicle, and assault with a deadly weapon
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"For years, Oaklanders have been calling for more help, additional force multipliers. And what this represents is, finally, the request of Oaklanders have been heard," media and political strategist Justin Berton said.
Berton believes freeway cameras are needed, especially in cash-strapped cities like Oakland.
"In Oakland, where you have an understaffed police department, and you are stretched thin on resources, you need all the help you can get," Berton said. "So, to hear that they are partnering with the CHP, and deploying technology, and coordinating, this is helping the city get safer."
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Caltrans confirmed to ABC7 News that 200 freeway cameras are now operational and recording on State Route 4, 13, 24, 112 and 123. And, on Interstate 80, 238, 580, 880 and 980.
However, some critics say there isn't enough data to support claims that cameras help reduce crime.
"We are being fed a lot of these lines about how much danger we are in. And asked to sell everything, including our right to privacy, in order to achieve the illusion of safety," Cat Brooks with the Anti Police-Terror Project said. The project documents police abuse.
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She argues that cameras will likely be used after a crime has been committed, which doesn't help with crime prevention.
"We are already under surveillance. There are cameras everywhere," Brooks said. "If the existing cameras are not helping OPD, or the CHP, or the Alameda County Sheriff, or the East Bay Parks and Recs, or the number of law enforcement agencies that are rolling through the town at any given moment, I fail to see what yet one more set is going to do."
Alameda County Supervisor, Lena Tam, whose districts include parts of Oakland, supports freeway camera technology. She says there are laws at the city and county level to make sure the data will not be misused.
"There is a level of scrutiny that is required and that can help ensure both the assurances and the accuracy, as well as the appropriateness of the use of the data," Tam said.
