Julia Nye: It’s time for civilian oversight of surveillance equipment

To The Daily Sun, 

I voted in favor of accepting the Homeland Security Grant to fund the Laconia Police Department's purchase of new surveillance cameras, which included snitch pole cameras, (which the police can install temporarily on a telephone pole or a transportable pole) and solar power supply.

The residents who spoke against the acceptance of the grant are rightly concerned about the policies that may or may not be in place that would prevent third party access. The agenda item came before the city council at the same time numerous investigations on "Flock" cameras came to the attention of national media. After talking to many residents who were in favor, and a few who were not, I thought it was important for me to meet with the police department to understand exactly what technology they had in place. I left the meeting feeling confident that the current policies prevent third party access and the cameras do not have the capabilities to identify individuals or license plates as the Flock cameras do.

The threat of artificial intelligence in technology in surveillance equipment will not go away. It is for this reason that I mentioned at the council meeting the need for civilian oversight of such equipment purchases and policies in the future. Some communities have already established such committees.

Given the reservations of many of the residents over the use of such technologies, I believe that Laconia would be better served to have open and transparent discussions on new purchases compared to the two quick meetings we had before the city council. I am not sure what kind of citizen oversight group would be right for Laconia, but I hope a group of citizens will gather and start talking about it.

Councilor Julia Nye (Ward 5)

Laconia