Oakland police need major technology upgrades, while a city contract for billboard advertising is leaving $88 million on the table, a watchdog group of Alameda County residents wrote in a new series of reports detailing how local agencies could do better.
Then there are OPD gadgets found by the jury to be ineffective, such as magnetic GPS trackers that can’t be launched by cops at fleeing vehicles because of limited range or cellphone data-capture technology that’s either obsolete or disallowed by state privacy laws. Cannabis billboards touting the legal use of marijuana for all in 2018 are seen off Broadway and Grand Ave. in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017. Another report found that the city’s contracts with two billboard-advertising companies will generate $88 million less revenue over the next three decades than another offer that came before the City Council last summer.
But there was a possible conflict of interest, the jury found: the health center had “previously employed the spouse of a city councilmember as a paid consultant, while the councilmember’s adult child was also actively involved with the organization.” By the end, the city signed Becker and Outfront to a joint 31-year deal — with a 10-year extension option — worth $68 million, while Clear Channel’s rejected proposal would have generated $156 million over a 30-year initial term.