Boston City Council seeks stricter oversight of police surveillance

Boston City Councilors are seeking stricter oversight regarding the Boston Police Department’s use of surveillance technology. Councilors have raised concerns that the department is utilizing an ‘exigent circumstances’ loophole to bypass a 2022 ordinance that requires council approval for new surveillance tools.

Specific concerns include the use of social media monitoring and the deployment of license plate readers. While a pilot program with the vendor Flock was stopped, the city has moved forward with other vendors, including Axon and Motorola. Councilor Ben Weber noted that the current ordinance does not require the police to notify the council when switching companies for license plate monitoring.

A new resolution aims to close these loopholes, ensuring the public and the council have clarity on what technology is being used, what data is collected, and who has access to it. The proposal has been referred to the Committee on Government Operations for further review.