Communities across the nation are fighting for control over police surveillance, and now’s the time to act in Cambridge to pass a strong local law requiring it.
Facial recognition, drones, license plate readers, biometric finger print readers, surveillance cameras, social media monitoring systems: Increasingly, state and local law enforcement are adopting high-tech surveillance tools, often in the dark with no public input. In Cambridge, we’ve been working for nearly two years on an ordinance that would ensure community control over police surveillance.
On Tuesday, April 17 at 2pm, Cambridge residents have an opportunity to make their voices heard about this critical issue. If you can, come out and add your voice to demand community control over surveillance!
WHEN: April 17, 2pm
WHERE: Cambridge City Hall
WHAT: Public Safety Committee hearing on surveillance
Across the country and right here in Massachusetts, people are calling on their local lawmakers to pass laws to require the following:
- Surveillance technologies should not be funded, acquired, or used without express city council approval.
- Local communities should play a significant and meaningful role in determining if and how surveillance technologies are funded, acquired, or used.
- The process for considering the use of surveillance technologies should be transparent and well-informed.
- The use of surveillance technologies should not be approved generally; approvals, if provided, should be for specific technologies and specific, limited uses.
- Surveillance technologies should not be funded, acquired, or used without addressing their potential impact on civil rights, civil liberties, and the budget.
- Surveillance technology use and deployment data should be reported publicly on an annual basis.
- City council approval should be required for all surveillance technologies and uses; there should be no “grandfathering” for technologies currently in use.