By Terri Harber, Roswell Daily Record — The effort continues to establish practices related to technological equipment used by Roswell city government employees in public safety roles.
A revised version of the draft resolution was handed out during the legal committee meeting on Oct. 22 with fewer sections, not as many “whereas” statements and a more concise title, ”A resolution establishing oversight and accountability for public safety surveillance technology.”
This proposal comes from public concerns expressed about the use of automated license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras by the Roswell Police Department (RPD).
The earlier draft resolution was included in the committee’s information packet, which was also posted online and publicly accessible before the meeting. Section 1, the scope of the draft resolution, presented on paper during this committee meeting, applies to ”public safety systems that materially identify, track, analyze or retain information about persons, vehicles or activities, including ALPR, networked surveillance cameras, biometrics, surveillance drones and comparable technology.”
Also more clearly spelled out is that council authorization would be required before this type of equipment is procured and purchased, as well as prior to being deployed or materially expanded. The latter term is described in the draft resolution, Section 2, council authorization, as a “substantial change in purpose, capabilities, data collection, retention, sharing or deployment scale.”
Section 3 would require a “Privacy and Technology Impact Assessment” to be established by the police chief and city attorney. An opportunity for public comment before such changes are brought to committees or city councilors also would be necessary.
Other sections would cover authorized use and deployment of these technologies, limit access and set timelines for retaining the information obtained, provide limits on sharing the material, and require mandatory contract language by the police chief and city attorney on several of these points.
It would also add an independent yearly review by the internal auditor to ensure compliance, followed by the auditor’s recommended corrective actions being made, if necessary, to the city councilors.
The RPD’s Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras — now operating in about two dozen Roswell locations — weren’t approved by the city council for physical deployment. But the councilors had their say about the ALPRs being purchased by the department.
These unique cameras are part of the city’s Real-Time Crime Center system, which was discussed for years among city officials.
More conventional video cameras were already monitoring some of the city’s major traffic intersections. One of those was at the intersection of Main and Second streets. It was among initial camera sites identified for inclusion in the Real-Time Crime Center, which also has about 200 regular video cameras. The talk about ALPRs started more than two years ago, according to city officials and past reporting.
Lance Bateman, RPD’s former chief, said focus will be on surveilling shopping and business areas, as well as parks and schools. Bateman stressed that while some detractors would consider the technology as a way for law enforcement to take on the role of “Big Brother,” this product isn’t designed to constantly monitor people.
Other equipment used at RPD’s Real-Time Crime Center includes drones and police body cameras.
The revised draft of this resolution will go to the Public Safety Committee later this month.
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