The Berkeley Police Accountability Board focused on several major public safety decisions and continued discussion on surveillance technology at its July 8 meeting. Board members discussed upcoming council votes on canine and tear gas use. Members also brought up emerging research on police drones and their effectiveness and response times, while addressing concerns about surveillance and accountability.

The first topics discussed in the meeting featured upcoming City Council decisions that could change the rules about when police can use canine dogs and helicopters, and whether police should be allowed to use tear gas and other chemical agents. The Police Accountability Board (PAB) previously sent a letter to the City Council’s Public Safety Policy Committee about both issues and planned to send another letter sharing the Board’s recommendations to the City Council before it made its final decisions at the following Council meeting. The PAB brought up the idea of allowing police to use previously restricted chemical agents, notably tear gas, which was faced by concern from audience members. This discussion focused on carefully considering these topics so the City Council members would fully deliberate on community impacts before making a solid decision. 

The discussion came as Berkeley was reviewing equipment restrictions that have been in place for decades. Under existing city policy, the Berkeley Police Department is typically required to obtain approval from the city manager before requesting helicopter or police canine assistance from outside agencies; the purpose of this rule is to add a layer of civilian oversight by ensuring these resources are only used in limited circumstances and providing accountability for tools that have caused concerns about excessive force in the past. 

PAB members also focused on recent research regarding the use of police drones which was presented during an earlier webinar, during which the Council presented findings from a study examining drone programs in other cities such as San Francisco and Chula Vista. According to the research, drones reduced initial response times by an average of 93 seconds but generally did not speed up officer arrivals. Board members also noted that additional studies are underway, including one in Philadelphia using real operational data, and showed interest in obtaining the findings. The discussion concluded with interest in the possibility of Berkeley participating in future independently evaluated drone research, and a consensus that possible uses of surveillance technology should require thorough evaluation. 

On July 14, however, the Berkeley City Council voted 5-4 to loosen restrictions on the use of canine units and helicopters, allowing a police lieutenant to approve requests directly and only notify the city manager afterwards. The council said the change would improve emergency response and maintain oversight, but those who oppose the change say that there is not sufficient evidence that the original protocol negatively affected public safety.