The City of Syracuse is working to make sure new police cameras, drones and other surveillance technologies don’t threaten people’s privacy. Surveillance technology includes any tool that can identify people by observing their movements and behavior.
The city intends to use surveillance to help with criminal investigations, infrastructure monitoring, and public safety. But, Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens says questions continue to emerge as this technology evolves.
“It also lends the question of when the best access to seeing what’s going on, what’s going underground, maybe going into someone’s house,” said Owens. “When actually do you use that technology and when do you turn it on? And when should it not be on? And if there’s audio should that ever be turned on if we’re engaged with a private resident.”
This is why Mayor Ben Walsh recently created a Surveillance Technology Work Group that allows residents to have input on how the city uses these new devices. As new surveillance technologies are identified, the Work Group will make recommendations to the mayor on whether or not the equipment should be implemented. Mayor Walsh says the city will be cautious when applying the new technology.
“We’ve learned from what other communities have done and mistakes that have been made and we’re out ahead of others. So yes, for us it goes hand in hand. We want to be smart, but we want to be safe. We want to be a leader in ensuring privacy of our constituents,” said Walsh.
The work group will be made up of city staff, members of community organizations, and local tech experts. Deputy Mayor Owens says the inclusion of tech specialists will ensure they are keeping up with the ever evolving devices used in the city.
“We didn’t want to just include people within the city but wanted to bring in with that, not only that technological expertise, but also those in academia who actually are always exploring these ethics questions and use questions and civil rights protections questions,” said Owens.
This is all part of Mayor Walsh’s Surveillance Technology Executive Order that he signed in December 2020.
