Providence deploys surveillance cameras but vows civil liberties won't be violated

Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza announced on Wednesday the deployment of the city's license plate reading cameras, attempting to assure the public that there would be no infringement of civil liberties despite concerns over a lack of public input.

In the opening of his statement, Elorza said the family of Ger'Vonte Tilson, the 15-year-old who was fatally shot last week, immediately asked the mayor when more cameras were going to be used.

"The first thing that they brought up to me was cameras," Elorza said. "And they asked me, 'When are you going to put cameras up throughout the city so that we can keep our city safe and hold people accountable?' "

Previously: Providence councilors want Flock camera program halted, calling for more time to review

While the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has criticized the cameras, designed by Atlanta company Flock Safety, and opposes the expansion of surveillance efforts, Elorza said that "concerns about civil liberties being compromised will not materialize."

"I just urge everybody to have an open mind," said City Council President John Igliozzi, who contended that the cameras are essential to creating "a safe and secure environment to live in."

Caught on tape: New recording system in East Providence City Hall raises flags with ACLU

Public Safety Commissioner Steven Paré said the cameras will likely be activated within the next 30 days. Paré said the policy governing the use of the cameras, which was distributed to reporters, was crafted over the course of 60 days.

Flock is giving Providence 25 cameras at no cost for a one-year trial. The program did not receive any approval from the city council, apparently because it did not need to be factored into the city's budget.

As of Wednesday, 10 city council members had signed onto a resolution calling for the program to be delayed so that they can seek more information. The resolution is now in the hands of the finance committee.

Paré said the police department asked for public input earlier, and received about 65 responses. He said the department would hold a public hearing if the camera program expands.

As the press conference went on, a small handful of protesters stood outside distributing flyers reading "block Flock," that argued that the cameras' effectivity is "unproven." However, Josh Thomas, a Flock Safety representative, said the cameras' "accuracy rates are upwards of 99.7% and have been shown to be 30% more accurate than legacy license plate technologies in side-by-side tests."

In Cranston, Thomas said since late August 2021, Flock cameras have helped to recover 40 stolen vehicles, locate seven missing persons, and make 42 stolen vehicle arrests, 24 wanted persons arrests, and 11 stolen property arrests.

How do the Flock cameras work and will they sell the data?

"When I first heard about Flock technology, I was driven to it immediately, and I was intrigued by it," said Police Chief Col. Hugh Clements, who explained how the cameras would work.

Clements said "Flock will never share or sell the data" gathered by the cameras, but Providence police can share the information with other law enforcement agencies for use in criminal investigations. The data will also be automatically shared with other cities that have Flock technology, including Bristol, Cranston, Glocester, Lincoln, Smithfield, Tiverton, Woonsocket.

The data, according to the policy, will be deleted from servers after 30 days.

Who's watching you?: New surveillance cameras make inroads in RI, raising privacy concerns

On the Cape Cod bridges: Massachusetts court backs limited use of license plate readers

To use the system, an officer must enter a "reason code" to search the database, which creates an "audit trail," Clements said. Paré said audits will be conducted on a monthly basis.

Clements said police will be reporting back to the city council and the police civilian review board.

After the press conference, the RIACLU doubled down on its criticism of the cameras in a letter.

"In short, the way this technology is being deployed by Providence undercuts transparency and accountability," Executive Director Steven Brown said. "Such a grossly unregulated and deeply intrusive police surveillance system should be of concern to all who value privacy."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence deploys Flock license plate cameras amid ACLU worries