[ad_1]
DENVER (KDVR) — On Wednesday morning, several Denver City Council members within the Surveillance Task Force met to discuss an extension that was put in place with the 111 Flock cameras within Denver.
“It’s the surveillance task force that the mayor put together, that has been meeting since August,” said Anaya Robinson, public policy director at the ACLU Colorado and a task force member. “And those negotiations and information never came to the task force.”
Robinson said they pushed for the meeting after Mayor Mike Johnston approved a contract extension in August that was just under the cost amount that needed a council vote, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado.
Robinson and other council members said this decision should never have been made behind closed doors. A main concern is privacy when it comes to having the cameras around.
“It’s the general concern and 4th amendment that we have a right to privacy when it comes to government surveillance,” Robinson said.
The mayor stated last week that new measures were added to the contract extension that include shutting out all access to city data to outside agencies without obtaining a memorandum of understanding, and a $100,000 fine for the technology company if or when data is shared with the federal government.
“Law enforcement was doing their job before Flock existed. Flock makes them able to do it quicker,” Robinson said. “But are we able to give up our right to privacy as individual citizens for that purpose?”
Other restrictions discussed in the meeting were topics about allowing searches for a select number of crimes, and no searches that would relate to immigration or reproductive healthcare. The mayor’s office also said audits would be conducted to ensure no bad actors gain access.
“It’s nearly impossible to make sure that state law isn’t being violated,” Robinson said.
Other council members chimed in during the meeting, stating safety is a prime concern for a lot of residents in the city. One member made a comparison to how cell phones track people versus Flock cameras.
The new contract will last through March 2026. There is no set next meeting for the Surveillance Task Force.
[ad_2]
Courtney Fromm
Source link