Baltimore grounds ‘spy plane’ programme

The City of Baltimore has voted to end a controversial aerial surveillance programme which saw camera-equipped planes flying over the city at least 40 hours per week.

The Board of Estimates agreed to terminate the contract with Persistent Surveillance Systems (PSS), the private company which operated the programme.

From May to October 2020, PSS flew aircraft over Baltimore to collect imagery data of 90 percent of the city to support Baltimore Police Department’s (BPD) investigation of crimes such as murder, shootings, armed robberies and car-jacking.

With the pilot period concluding, the Baltimore Police Department said it had no plan to renew or extend the programme and requested that the Board of Estimates authorise the formal termination of the contract, arguing that this was more transparent than simply allowing it to expire.

A statement from Mayor Brandon Scott, who was sworn in in December and previously opposed the programme, said: “There is no doubt that Baltimore continues to suffer from a violence epidemic. However, unproven experiments and gimmicks designed to simply appease communities in the short term will not provide our residents with the coordinated strategy nor trauma-responsive care that they need and deserve.

“Our focus will continue to be on proven public safety solutions and forming a comprehensive strategy that involves all city agencies, law enforcement partners, and community-based organisations.”

Legal challenge

The Board’s decision follows a lawsuit and subsequent appeal from the  American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) seeking to block the programme, which it called “the largest mass surveillance programme ever implemented in an American city”.

Brett Max Kaufman, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU, said: “Baltimore’s termination of its unconstitutional spy plane programme is a hard-fought victory for all Baltimoreans, especially for the Black leaders who challenged this and the communities of colour who are disproportionately targeted by this surveillance. This decision is a long-overdue recognition that this kind of all-seeing surveillance technology has no place in our cities.”

Despite the contract ending the ACLU plans to pursue the hearing, which is scheduled for next month.

David Rocah, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU of Maryland, commented: “While we applaud Mayor Scott’s decision to abandon this unique threat to privacy…the law is clear that the city can’t intentionally duck accountability by suddenly bailing on its years-long defence of this technology on the eve of next month’s appeals court hearing.”

Private funding

The programme, officially known as Aerial Investigation Research (AIR) caused controversy when it was initially piloted 2016, with accusations that it had been launched in secret.

As well as being run by a private company it was also privately funded by Arnold Ventures, a philanthropic organisation.

At the City Council meeting last week, a city attorney for Baltimore’s Police Department said most of the data collected through the latest pilot will be destroyed but around 15 percent will be preserved to support prosecutions.

A preliminary study published last month by RAND Corporation, funded by Arnold Ventures, found that the six-month pilot in Baltimore was associated with small increases in the rate at which police solved serious crimes, but said an overall evaluation of the programme would require a larger review of citywide police efforts.

The City of St. Louis is also considering a programme with Persistent Surveillance Systems and the bill is nearing a final vote with the Board of Aldermen. Arnold Ventures recently released a statement saying it had decided not to fund the initiative proposed in St. Louis.

It said after evaluating the programme in Baltimore, “we have decided against further investments in the programme at this time.” Other donors could fund the project if it goes ahead.

Cities Today has contacted Persistent Surveillance Systems for comment.

Keeping an eye on surveillance

Several cities are looking to implement better governance of surveillance-related technology or backing away from some tools altogether. A number of US cities have banned facial recognition technology, including Portland which has prohibited its use by both city departments and private companies. The city is now working on broader policies for both new and existing technology systems.

Following controversy over its smart streetlight programme, San Diego is bringing in an ordinance governing the use of surveillance technologies, as well as a Privacy Advisory Board comprised of volunteer citizen members.

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