RI ACLU asks for ordinance on ‘invasive surveillance system’ recently launched by Providence police

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Rhode Island American Civil Liberties Union wants city leaders to put some guardrails on Providence’s new “Real Time Crime Center.”

We told you about the new initiative Tuesday.

The center allows police to track cameras all around the city in real time and residents have been invited to “opt in” to having their security cameras be part of it.

In a statement, the ACLU called it an “invasive surveillance system…with no privacy policy firmly in place,” but police say it won’t be used that way.

“We’re not sitting here…we don’t have the time nor the manpower to sit here and watch 290 feeds…we have calls that we can be responding to virtually that take priority over any of that,” said Providence Police Department Detective Sergeant Jonathan Primiano.

The ACLU sent a letter to Mayor Brett Smiley and the city council asking that they work on a city ordinance that clearly outlines a standard operating privacy procedure for police when using the center.