After the Covid-19 global pandemic began in 2020, Oakland Chinatown quickly became an epicenter of anti-Asian hate, reflecting a nationwide rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents, amid a public safety crisis that wracked the entire city of Oakland with violent crime.
The Oakland City Council vote to reverse the planned expansion of the DAC would not be the only time the pendulum swung within the City Council on issues pertaining to public safety in the city, after receiving federal funding for purposes specifically related to that.
Each city’s path towards leveraging smart technologies to improve efficiency and the quality of life is unique, but when it comes to initiatives involving surveillance cameras, public pushback over privacy concerns has certainly been a common thread in numerous cities.
