ATLANTA — On Monday, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens plans to go before the city council to discuss new rules he’d like for how police use surveillance technology.
Dickens released a policy proposal on Sept. 15 for how he wants the council to restrict how police are using automated license plate readers and surveillance cameras.
The technology used by the Atlanta Police Department is from Flock Safety, a Georgia-based company well-known for these devices.
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Channel 2 Action News reported when Dickens’ proposal was announced, coming amidst a wave of law enforcement officers across Georgia were arrested, terminated or both for misusing the technology over the past several months.
APD already performed an audit of the department’s use, and while the percentage of uses that were potentially improper were less than 1%, nearly 80 cases were flagged as questionable.
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APD does not publicly share how many Flock cameras are within the city limits, nor have they publicly reported any incidents of confirmed misconduct.
Agencies across Georgia have accused officers of using the camera system to stalk and harass people, discovered more prominently after Flock updated its services to include an auditing tool.
To guard against similar Flock abuses, Dickens is trying to get the City Council’s approval of legislation to strengthen and codify the city’s rules for privacy, oversight and accountability.
If passed by council, the mayor’s proposal would set permanent standards for public safety cameras in the Atlanta city government, would audit officers’ Flock use monthly and would clearly define when, and how, the surveillance technology may be used.
Dickens said his policy would make it so Atlanta can have both “effective public safety technology governed by clear rules and consequences when those rules are violated.”
The mayor wants to have legislation reviewed, adjusted if needed and passed within 60 days.
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