Under the law, city departments are required to disclose their surveillance technologies and put together reports outlining how those tools are used and their impact on communities.
That information then makes its way to the newly formed Privacy Advisory Board — a volunteer panel charged with vetting the city's technologies — and, subsequently, to the City Council for approval.
The Police Department has identified more than 70 technologies that fall under the ordinance — from drones to the agency's emergency dispatch systems. The department's proposal to install cameras with integrated license plate readers on 500 streetlights was the first tool to go through the new protocol.
Body-worn cameras and Evidence.com, the system the department uses to store camera footage and other photo and video evidence, is the second.
Police officials said Friday that the cameras are next in line partly because new agreements can't be drafted with the vendor until they move through the surveillance ordinance process. The agency's body-worn camera contract with Axon, a company that develops technology and weapons for law enforcement and the military, was set to expire Thursday, but the department obtained a six-month extension.
Police body-worn cameras have been praised as a tool that can lead to greater department transparency, better officer accountability and improved interactions between police and the public. But debate continues over how the cameras should be used to achieve those benefits: Which encounters should be recorded? When should footage be released to the public?
The department began equipping officers with body-worn cameras in 2014. Policy generally requires officers to keep their cameras on during their shifts and to hit record before "enforcement" contacts, such as traffic stops.
However, last year, the City Auditor's Office found that as many as 40 percent of officers working enforcement encounters from October 2020 through September 2021 did not activate their body-worn cameras.
Police officials will provide information about the technology at Anchor Church in the Ridgeview/Webster community, and the presentation will by streamed to eight other locations across the city so residents can weigh in on the tool. Information about meeting locations can be found on the Police Department's website.
The department will also post a recording of the presentation to its website and allow online public comments until 5 p.m. on July 13.
Additional information about body-worn cameras, including the department policies that govern their use, can also be found on the agency's website.
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