But they still won’t jump on the the body cam bandwagon. They want to spy on all of us, but won’t have any transparency themselves. Do Better FPD.
In May 2022, we obtained the License Plate Reader Draft Policy as sent to the Framingham City Council who could get no straight answers about the cameras already installed with no city oversight.
Dear City Councilors,
Thank you again for the opportunity to speak with you last week about our license plate readers.
As I mentioned when we met, this program will have safety protocols in place to protect the data and is sure to provide an important layer of safety and protection to our residents.
Below, please find the additional information that was requested:
1. Data from cameras from 2010 to the present:
This data actually lived with the Registry of Motor Vehicles and was not downloaded or saved by the Police Department. The police department does not have any data on file.
2. Data source:
As mentioned previously some of the stats came from a vender. Other stats came from a study done by the police in Gwinnet County, Georgia, as well as another study completed by the Police Executive Research Forum, which is a research source used by Police Chiefs.
3. A draft copy of our license plate reader policy is attached. Several policies were used to develop this draft to include IACP model policy, Ma DCJIS model policy and Vallejo PD ALPR policy as well as “best practices” from within law enforcement field. Please note:
This policy is a draft and is not yet ready for release. We have not finalized which camera system we will be using.
4. Opinion of the Secretary of State:
A municipality or agency is not required to produce records that do not yet exist. (The license plate readers are held by the vendor company and only become public record when/if we download a plate for investigative purposes.) The mandatory disclosure provision of the Public Records Law only applies to information that is in the custody of the governmental entity at the time the request is received.* Consequently, there is no obligation to create a record for a requestor or to honor prospective requests; however, the Regulations do not prohibit an RAO from responding to such requests.
*G. L. c. 4, § 7(26) (defining “public records” as materials which have already been “made or received” by a public entity); see also 32 Op. Att’y Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977)
(custodian is not obliged to create a record in response to a request for information).
Please note: We will not randomly scroll through footage for FOIA requests or any other needs as we will not have the footage to scroll through.
5. Distinction between license plate readers and body cameras:
With the license plate readers, the data does not live with us as body camera footage would. Also, license plate readers are still pictures only; body cameras provide both audio and video footage.
6. Other community’s concerns about ALPR cameras
I have not been made aware of any concerns from other agencies.
Chief Lester Baker
Below find the most recent receipt for MORE cameras that have been installed all around the city. It was spent out of the top-secret Law Enforcement Trust Fund ‘LETF’ account which allows to police to purchase whatever they see fit with no budgetary oversight from the city council or mayor.
When the city says no…. LETF says yes.
The source of the funds is seized monies and property through law enforcement activity. Past police chiefs have in the past used these funds to buy souped-up high-end vehicles as gifts for deputy chiefs, hundreds of thousands of dollars in uniforms and honor guard uniforms, that per employee contracts – the individual employees are supposed to purchase, drones, and much much more.
