Lateral surveillance

Policing agencies have become increasingly reliant on the use of privately-owned surveillance, or "lateral surveillance." This form of public-private surveillance runs the gamut from video doorbells to privately-owned automated license plate readers.

Unfortunately, lateral surveillance can undermine democratic accountability around police use of technology. When agencies seek to purchase their own surveillance devices, they usually must justify the program to lawmakers to obtain funding. In approving a technology, lawmakers might implement safeguards such as restricting how the technology may be used or how long data may be retained. Then, the procurement process generally entails some form of evaluation of the technology in question and comparison across different vendors. These guardrails are circumvented when surveillance is privately purchased and owned. Agencies can dramatically expand their surveillance reach with no public debate and at no cost. Moreover, certain existing rules governing police surveillance may not apply in the lateral surveillance context, creating a regulatory loophole.

The Policing Project has developed this model legislation regulating police use of lateral surveillance to help ensure these tools are used responsibly and in a manner that is transparent and democratically accountable.