The Community Police Commission wants residents to learn how Cleveland police use surveillance technology and to share concerns they may have about it.
The commission is hosting a community forum at New Sardis Primitive Baptist Church on Thursday, May 30, where the Cleveland Division of Police will describe how they use surveillance tools.
A panel discussion will follow the presentation, and audience members will have time to ask questions.
Commissioner Piet van Lier said it’s important for community members to understand how police use technology such as license plate readers, cameras and the ShotSpotter gunshot-detection technology. The conversation will likely touch on the constitutionality of some of the technology, as well as whether it’s effective and a good use of taxpayer money.
“Is there a way for these kinds of technologies to be used constitutionally?” van Lier said. “Are they mass unwarranted surveillance? Or are they a necessary part of keeping the community safe?”
As chair of the Police Policy Committee, which oversees the Surveillance Technology Work Group, van Lier led the event planning.
Ayesha Bell Hardaway, a Case Western Reserve University law professor whose research focuses on criminal law and policing, will moderate the panel discussion.
The panel will include a Cleveland State University professor with expertise in data privacy or criminal law; Gary Daniels, the chief lobbyist of the ACLU of Ohio; and Latonya Goldsby, president of Black Lives Matter – Cleveland.
Goldsby wants residents to question Cleveland City Council members about whether investing in technology like ShotSpotter is the best use of taxpayer dollars. The city used about $2.75 million of American Rescue Plan Act money to expand ShotSpotter.
Studies have shown that ShotSpotter “has no significant impact on firearm-related homicides or arrest outcomes.”
“We see a lot of fear-mongering and things like that as it relates to crime and violence in our communities. But we never hear any real solutions from our politicians on how we’re going to improve those conditions within those communities,” Goldsby said. “And so when politicians can’t figure out how to solve socio-economic problems, their call is to increase police intervention and surveillance in those communities.”
The Community Police Commission made changes to the police department’s ShotSpotter general police order (GPO) earlier this year. The changes stemmed from concerns from the Surveillance Technology Work Group that the original GPO may have violated Fourth Amendment rights related to protection from unreasonable search and seizure.
If you go
What: Panel discussion and community Q&A on police surveillance and safety in your neighborhood
When: 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, May 30
Where: New Sardis Primitive Baptist Church, 3474 E. 147th St.
