Transparency Ordinance

Eternal Vigilance is the Price

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by J.P. Massar

Passing legislation is only half the battle.  Without oversight by watchdogs, be they legislators or public-interest organizations or both, executives can easily ignore inconvenient laws that increase their workload or their budget. Without pushback, the interpretation of laws can be twisted to belay legislation’s intent.

All of this was in play in May of 2020 as the Berkeley City Council considered whether to sign on to a contract with CycloMedia to take snapshot, panoramic views of Berkeley’s streets.  The City Manager had decided that this process did not fall under Berkeley’s Surveillance Ordinance, issuing two memos to that effect. Some City Councilors and Oakland Privacy advocates thought otherwise based on the plain English meaning of the ordinance.

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Body Worn Cameras

Body Cameras Didn’t Reduce Use of Force in San Leandro

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When the San Leandro Police Department tried to convince the San Leandro City Council to approve its $441,306.84 purchase of body-worn cameras in May 2014, it argued that the cameras would lead to a reduction in the use of force by its police officers. However, that didn’t happen. Six years of use of force data provided by the San Leandro Police Department in response to public records requests shows that use of force increased in the years following the purchase.

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License Plate Readers

Novato to Track Terrorists with License Plate Readers on Highway 37

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by Mike Katz-Lacabe

According to a $60,000 grant the Novato Police Department recently received from the Bay Area Urban Areas Security Initiative, new automated license plate readers (ALPRs) will be installed on Highway 37 to track terrorists.

However, no suspected terrorists have been tracked or identified with Novato’s existing ALPRs, which have been in use since 2012. We asked Novato City Manager Adam McGill for information on how many suspected terrorists had been detected or tracked with Novato’s existing ALPRs. McGill forwarded the request to Novato Police Lieutenant Christopher Jacob, who responded, “According to our records, we have not detected any hot plates related to or associated with terrorism.”

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Transparency Ordinance

Surveillance Transparency in Santa Clara County

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Santa Clara County passed the first surveillance transparency ordinance in the United States on June 7, 2016. They remain the only county in the nation to have a surveillance oversight law in effect. (The others are in cities or regional transit districts).

So how is it working? This video snippet from the Board of Supervisors May 12 meeting is a look at an acquisition with use policy and impact report brought before the Supervisors for approval, before the technology is acquired.

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Facial Recognition

Seattle Port Commission Shouldn’t Collaborate with Border Patrol on Facial Recognition at SEATAC.

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30 civil rights groups are asking the Seattle Port Commission to rescind its sanction of face recognition technology at Seattle-Tacoma Airport. The Port Commission, which oversees the Northwest’s largest international airport, had voted unanimously to collaborate with Customs and Border Patrol in the issuance of a 5.7 million dollar request for proposals (RFP) for the procurement and implementation of face surveillance at the airport.

Port Commissioners had stated they felt they “had no choice” but to go along with CPB’s plans, but as the letter from the 20 civil liberties groups states:

The Seattle Port Commission has a choice not to collaborate with CBP and should not facilitate CBP’s unauthorized surveillance of U.S. citizens.

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Shotspotter Gunshot Detection

Civil Rights and Racial Bias Issues Boil for Surveillance Vendor Shotspotter.

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Community groups are continuing to advocate against the spread of Shotspotter gun detection technology. In Columbus, Ohio, a viral video of police abuse following a Shotspotter alert enraged the community and incited advocates who “noted the consistency of the technology being installed predominantly in communities of color”.

The Ohio Students Association (OSA Cleveland) told Coda (article linked below): “OSA will be in attendance and make our voices heard regarding our concerns about Shotspotter’s threats to Clevelanders’ civil liberties. As part of the Coalition to Stop the Inhumanity at the Cuyahoga County Jail, we will be working to spread the word and educate people about Shotspotter and make sure the community is aware”.

Coda: Gunshot Detection Technology Raises Concerns of Bias

In August of 2019, a federal judge refused to dismiss civil conspiracy charges against Shotspotter Inc. for colluding with the Rochester Police Department to violate the civil rights of Silvon Simmons, a Black man who was shot three times by the Rochester Police Department and later acquitted of four felony charges.

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