Police Accountability & Civilian Oversight — A System Under Pressure

active• berkeley

Berkeley's Police Accountability Board — created by voters in 2020 as a civilian oversight body with meaningful investigative authority — is facing mounting institutional pressure that its former director has called alarming. Hansel Aguilar, who was director of police accountability until February 2026, warned that the tide is turning against civilian oversight of police agencies everywhere — a national trend that is reaching Berkeley. In a rare win for the civilian police oversight board, City Attorney Farimah Brown said the City Council — which approved the Berkeley Police Department's use-of-force policy in 2020 — needs to sign off on any changes to that policy, meaning the PAB's role in shaping police use-of-force standards is preserved. The March 2026 City Council agenda included a PAB surveillance presentation on the city's Flock Safety contract — a sign that the same ALPR data-sharing concerns roiling other Bay Area cities are now being formally reviewed in Berkeley. The November 2026 City Council elections — with four district seats on the ballot — will directly determine the Board's political support on the Council.

Related cause: Police accountability

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