Imagine how insecure residents must feel about their own cars after learning that thieves drove off with several police cars.
Residents have raised security concerns after five Alameda County vehicles, including sheriff’s office units, were stolen from a county garage in Oakland early on Sunday.
Although all five stolen vehicles were recovered by Sunday night, the sheriff’s office is unaware if any firearms went missing.
As of Sunday evening, no arrests had been made, and the reason for the theft remains unknown.
Joyride Motive Suspected in Police Car Theft
According to a report by ABC7 Eyewitness News, a security guard revealed that one or more thieves forcefully entered through the gate to steal the cars.
Although all stolen vehicles were found by Sunday night, UCLA professor Jeff Brantingham expressed surprise at the nature of the incident and predicted the motive behind the theft as joyriding. He said:
“It is a surprise to me. It is highly unusual for people to target official vehicles like that.
“What it makes me think of really, is the more recent Kia Boys phenomena. Where you have people who are targeting particular cars because they’ve discovered a vulnerability and they can gain some, let’s say, internet fame from doing something like that. Hard to know if anything’s going on like this.”
He added:
“So, in this particular case, the fact that the vehicles were recovered, suggests that it was, potentially more of a joyriding type scenario.”
Residents Raise Concerns About the Security of Their Vehicles
Stealing police cars is no small matter, and the act hints that the perpetrators have no fear of the police or the law.
Consequently, it is natural for citizens living in the area to raise questions about the security of their vehicles. Oakland resident Leanne Hilgart said:
“So if police cars are getting stolen, a whole group of them, then how are we supposed to assume everybody elses cars are even potentially safe?” [sic]
Another resident named Christopher Berry said:
“It’s just crazy right? How does something like that happen?”
Sgt. Morales said that the keys may have been left inside the vehicles at the time of the theft:
“I do believe that the keys may have been in vehicles. I’m not quite positive, though.”
Deputies confirmed that license plate readers in the area helped them recover all the vehicles.
Flock License Plate Readers Challenged by a Man from Colorado
In news related to license plate readers, Guessing Headlights reported how Colorado-based Will Freeman filed a lawsuit against the Boulder Police Department.
He alleged that the police department uses these Flock license plate reader cameras for illegal mass surveillance. The lawsuit claims that the cameras surveil citizens without a significant reason or warrant, which is reportedly a violation of Colorado’s constitution. He said:
“I don’t think most people know the full extent of what these cameras can do.
“The biggest concern is the data they collect.”
However, the Boulder Police Department said that all searches within the Flock camera system are logged, and they require the approval of a supervisor. It also claims that the cameras in question have helped reduce car thefts by 34.5%.
Civil rights lawyer Andy McNulty, who is taking up the case, said they hope to set a precedent through the lawsuit:
“We’re hoping to set a precedent here in Colorado that this is unconstitutional, and that cities should stop using these Flock cameras and other cameras that track people’s movements and interfere with their privacy rights.”
The City of Boulder acknowledged the lawsuit. Spokesperson Sarah Huntley said:
“The city can confirm that we are aware of the lawsuit and our attorneys are evaluating the claims that are being made. As this is now litigation, we will make our arguments and share our perspective through official court filings and any hearings on this matter.”