Pavel Payano, City Councilor and Chair of the Public Safety Committee, has submitted an ordinance relating to future city wide surveillance technology programs. The ordinance balances privacy and civil liberty protections with police investigative and public safety needs by requiring legally enforceable safeguards, including robust transparency, oversight, and accountability measures.
The City of Lawrence could potentially install surveillance cameras in 28 different locations across the city without any procedures or protocols regulating its use or their placement. Councilor Payano’s new policy would require any municipal entity that seeks to use surveillance technology to obtain approval from the Lawrence City Council. It would require written operation, approval, and public notification protocols that would balance privacy and civil liberty protections with police investigative and public safety needs.
Data reporting measures would also be required including regulations that empower the Lawrence City Council and the public to verify that mandated safeguards have been strictly adhered to. An exception is also created which would allow the Lawrence Police Department to use surveillance equipment on a temporary basis subject to a series of requirements and approvals.
“While surveillance tools can be useful for effective police works they must also be regulated, checked, and balanced in order to protect privacy and civil liberty rights that are essential to a democratic society,” said Lawrence City Councilor Pavel Payano. “Before this potentially invasive technology can be implemented, the public must know the exact details around the full costs of the surveillance initiative, their placement, and the collection and retention of the surveillance data. If this ordinance is approved the City of Lawrence will join cities across the country like Somerville, MA which have created strict policies which protect the rights of individuals while preserving public safety.”
