Search ▸ Communication to the City Council
a compilation of the Surveillance technology Impact Reports approved by the City Council on February 24, 2020
February 24, 2020
To the Honorable, the City Council:
Re:
Additional Surveillance Technology Impact Reports
Pursuant to the Surveillance Technology Ordinance, Chapter 2.128 of the Cambridge
Municipal Code (the “Ordinance”), I am submitting the following to the City Council for review
and discussion at the February 24, 2020 Council Meeting:
• Three (3) new Surveillance Technology Impact Reports (“STIRs”), describing
Surveillance Technologies which are subject to the Ordinance, which require City
Council approval.
The attached new STIRs were not previously submitted. They concern new Surveillance
Technology the City is seeking to acquire and existing Surveillance Technology that –
considering feedback from the Public Safety Committee – I am reporting to the Council in new,
consolidated STIRs:
• Digital Evidence Management System, a new Surveillance Technology requested by
the Emergency Communications Department.
• IP Address Collection Platforms, existing Surveillance Technology previously reported
to the Council in two separate STIRs from the Information Technology Department. (See
“Checkpoint Firewall” and “Web server access and error logging” STIRs submitted at the
December 9, 2019 Council Meeting.) This new STIR clarifies the use of IP Address
Collection Platforms throughout the City.
• Atlas RMV Portal, existing Surveillance Technology previously reported to the Council
in two separate STIRs from the Finance Department and the Traffic, Parking and
Transportation Department. (See “Atlas Database (RMV)” and “ATLAS: Massachusetts
RMV Website Portal” STIRs submitted at the December 9, 2019 Council Meeting.) This
new STIR clarifies the use of the Atlas RMV Portal throughout the City and incorporates
the Assessing Department’s use of the Portal.
In a separate communication, I will also submit the following to the City Council for
review and discussion at the February 24, 2020 Council Meeting:
• Revised Surveillance Technology Impact Reports (“STIRs”), describing Surveillance
Technologies which are subject to the Ordinance, which require City Council approval.
The original STIRs were submitted to the City Council at the December 9, 2019 Council
Meeting or to the Public Safety Committee at a January 22, 2020 committee meeting and
were reviewed and discussed at the January 22, 2020 committee meeting. The revised
STIRs will address feedback from the Public Safety Committee.
• Summary of STIRs submitted to the City Council during the past year. The Summary
of STIRs will include a summary of all STIRs submitted to the City Council to date,
including what action the City Council took on same, and reference all revised STIRs for
ease of review by the Council.
Those STIRs previously submitted to the City Council at the December 9, 2019 Council
Meeting or to the Public Safety Committee at a January 22, 2020 committee meeting, were
discussed in detail at the January 22, 2020 Public Safety Committee meeting and referred to the
City Council by the Public Safety Committee with a recommendation that they be approved by
the City Council.
I look forward to reviewing these documents in detail with you at the February 24, 2020
City Council meeting and to answering any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Louis A. DePasquale
City Manager
Enclosures
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
Department:
Emergency Communications Department
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Submitted by:
Walter Heffernan/Christina Giacobbe
Date:
2/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Digital Evidence Mangement System
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• A Digital Evidence Management System is similar to a document management
solution. The Digital Evidence Management System is a repository of currently
collected data such as 911 calls, Police Records Management System, Evidence,
Computer Aided Dispatch, Crime Scene Photos, Interview Room Recordings, Lab
Reports and Shot Spotter data.
• The purpose of this technology is to provide a centralized storage location for the
existing data from our current disparate systems in the Emergency Communications
and Police Departments and store it in one central repository to facilitate the
management of investigations and digital evidence in a secure cloud-based system for
authorized users. This technology will store copies of existing protected Criminal
Justice Information Services (CJIS) information and will be compliant as required by
the CJIS security requirements for federal, state and local governments. Additionally,
this technology will provide a secure electronic connection to the Cambridge Police
Department’s Court Prosecutors Office and the District Attorney’s Office. This
technology will automate the delivery of documentation that is currently required by
the court. Currently, there are over 4,000 cases assigned annually that we process for
court.
• This technology also provides a secure automated evidence upload feature for citizens
who voluntarily provide evidence to the police department. For example, a witness of
a crime may have a photo of a car and license plate that fled the scene. This
information could be uploaded to increase solvability factors as well as increased
citizen participation. In addition, business owners could voluntarily register their
closed-circuit television systems through the technology, so that the Police
Department does not have to canvas the neighborhood to locate these devices.
• The impact of this technology on the departments will increase business operations
and effective data collection. This will also reduce the risk of errors in manual data
gathering and therefore provide more effective evidence collection. In addition, there
will be a reduction in staff resources for data collection from various units and
departments.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• The current process for gathering data is very manual and labor intensive. The Police
and Emergency Communications Department receive requests daily from the
Middlesex Attorney’s Office for all existing discoverable information for related
cases prior to the initial court date. They use this information to properly assess the
facts of the case and determine prosecution. This technology will automate the
process reducing the manual effort of pulling this information, transporting case files
and providing copies of 911 calls for review via discs.
• The purpose of a Digital Evidence Management System is to consolidate data from
siloed applications and data sources. The technology provides an automated solution
for gathering evidence of violations of any criminal or civil law, administrative
actions and collected records such as 911 audio, Police Records Management System,
Evidence, and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD). In addition, the technology
provides secure connection to transfer required case evidence to the court.
• The technology also provides a secure connection for residents and registered
business owners to upload case evidence including pictures and videos. This
application allows the police department to communicate with residents effectively
and efficiently in obtaining additional information that will assist in solving crimes.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• The technology will be deployed in the data center at 125 6th Street so that it can
connect to the existing systems that support the Police Department and Emergency
Communications.
• If a cloud-based solution is chosen, then it will be deployed to both 125 6th Street
data center and the Microsoft Azure Government Cloud. Microsoft Azure
Government Cloud is a commercial infrastructure cloud platform contractually
committed to meeting the CJIS security requirements for federal, state and local
governments. It will then transmit the data over Virtual Private Network (VPN)
connections that will be configured to meet the CJIS security requirements. This will
be used to send and receive data from court and residents and/or registered
businesses.
• The target date for procuring this technology is spring 2020.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• The privacy impact of this technology is consistent with federal, state and local
government policies for the purposes of law enforcement and public safety efforts.
With the implementation of this technology, the authorized personnel performing law
enforcement duties will have electronic access to records that currently exist in
various systems. The department continues to maintain those data sources and
deliberately chose not to expand access to additional data from what it is today.
Therefore, there is no additional privacy impact from the utilization of this
technology.
• This technology will be configured with similar role-based access to the existing data
in disparate systems to ensure protection of the data. Therefore, only authorized users
will have access for performing their duties in accordance with their role in the
respective departments. This technology will provide an electronic version of the
same data set to the court that exists today in our systems that we use to gather
information on case files.
• Because this technology provides an opportunity for citizens and business to engage
and participate in sharing media, there may be a greater impact on privacy of the
individuals or businesses who voluntarily provide such information to law
enforcement officials. The Police Department will address these privacy impacts by
limiting access to the information to assigned investigators and/or authorized users,
similarly to current department policy. All access will be password protected and
there will be a change log identifying all users who access each record and data
source. In addition, we will conduct detailed training on the use of the system and
best practices for protecting personal information as well as quality assurance
measures for compliance. Lastly, the department will ensure appropriate
communications are visible on the portal and/or department webpage so that residents
and business owners are aware of the use of this technology and shared media.
• This technology does not have the capacity to access residents or business owners’
devices. Anyone who wishes to share information through the system will upload
the media that they wish to share. In addition, the technology will only record the
information provided by the sender. Business owners who voluntarily register on the
technology platform may be asked by law enforcement to provide media for a
specific date and time related to a case. The business owner can voluntarily provide
the media if they choose, but law enforcement cannot access the media without their
consent. The benefits of the business registration program allow for investigators to
request media directly without having to canvass the area saving valuable time during
investigations.
• Currently, citizens and business owners volunteer data in person and/or on the scene
of an incident. We receive a tremendous amount of support and cooperation in
obtaining media related to incidents.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• Technology Purchase: The initial cost and ongoing maintenance for the purchase of
the technology are estimated in the table below, based on a 3-year license:
Estimated Fee Schedule
Initial Subscription Term
Total
Fees Year 1
Fees Year 2
Fees Year 3
Implementation Services Fees
$92,900
$92,900
Software license and support
$140,000
$145,000
$285,000
Server(s), OS, Certificates,
Support
$4,000
$4,000
$96,900
$140,000
$145,000
$381,900
• Personnel Costs: Estimated to be one (1) System Admin and one (1) Application
Developer for sixty (60) hours to implement this application. On-going support is
estimated at five (5) hours per month; we expect this time will be used researching
any system or application issues and performing system maintenance.
There should be a reduction in on-going personnel costs as this application
consolidates all the required data gathering and documentation for court and
organizes it in one place for reference which will increase resources to support other
areas of the department.
• Source of funds: Initial $92,900 EGov/Free Cash appropriation on December 16,
2019. Anticipate further funding through EGov/Free Cash.
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
Department:
IT Department
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Submitted by:
Eric Belford, Mike Dugas
Date:
02/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
IP Address Collection Platforms (Multiple)
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• The City of Cambridge uses various platforms that collect IP addresses from internal
and external connections and connection attempts, e.g., the City website, Find It
Cambridge, the City firewall and the City’s web servers. While the platforms vary,
the surveillance capabilities and functionality are the same. IP address information is
used to limit and protect the City network from malicious sites and unauthorized
access.
• The identification of a device's IP address can be used to determine the country, city,
or postal/ZIP code of the device, determining an object's generalized geographical
location.
• The City’s Microsoft web server software records IP addresses, as well as date &
time, referring URL (if provided by the browser), and user agent string (again, if
provided by the user’s browser) at the time of the request for connection to the server.
It also records connection errors. The data is written to log files on disk for future
reference and analysis.
• The firewall uses the same information to protect City of Cambridge users and Data.
When malicious activity occurs from a certain IP or region, we are able to adequately
protect or defend city data. We do not use this information to identify individuals
only as a means to protect City employees, City data infrastructure, and personal
information.
• This information is not sent to any third parties.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Maintaining the safety and security of City Data, Infrastructure, Employees, Students,
Customers, and City-owned or controlled buildings.
• Analyzing and managing service delivery.
• The City of Cambridge collects information about visitors to public websites. This
information is used for analytical and statistical purposes to help better manage the
sites. Information that is collected includes the date and the type of browser being
used. We use this information to learn how many visitors we have, the websites they
are coming from, which parts of our web site are of most interest to users and other
facts that will help us improve the web site and the services we offer.
• Identifying IP addresses is critical to the City’s network security. The City is a
member of the Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center, an organization
dedicated to improving cybersecurity for state and local governments. Through this
membership, ITD receives regular reports listing the top malware IP addresses.
Identifying the IP addresses connecting to the City’s platforms allows ITD to protect
against malware IP addresses and similar threats. (See attached report example.)
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• All City web servers; firewall.
• The log files have been collected on these devices for over 20 years. They are located
at the Healy Building in Cambridge and on the Microsoft Azure Government Cloud.
The Microsoft Azure Government Cloud is a commercial infrastructure cloud
platform contractually committed to meeting privacy and security requirements for
federal, state and local governments.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• The identification of a device's IP address can be used to determine the country, city,
or postal/ZIP code of the device, determining an object's generalized geographical
location.
• Access to all collected IP addresses is password protected, and authorized employees
receive annual training on best practices for protecting personal information.
• This information is not sent to any third parties.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
Firewall
• $300,000 implementation cost
• $20,000 ongoing training
• $50,000 annual maintenance
Website(s)
• Hosted on a Virtual Host which contains many servers, making a cost estimate
difficult to pinpoint but we estimate about $50,000.
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
Department:
Finance Department – Revenue & Assessing; Traffic, Parking, and
Transportation – Parking Management
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Submitted by:
Revenue – Michele Kincaid, Angela Brathwaite; Assessing – Gayle
Willett; TPT – Joe Barr, Brooke McKenna, Stephanie McAuliffe
Date:
2/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
Atlas RMV Portal
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• The Atlas RMV Portal is a web application provided by the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts to access the RMV system. The Atlas Database holds information on
all the registered/licensed drivers in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. These
records are created and maintained by the RMV. Information is collected by the
RMV and is accessible to municipalities when users log in to view a driver or dealer’s
profile. The City is not able to save or store any of this information internally, it is
only available on the Database. When logged in, City users are connected directly to
the RMV system. Any changes made by the City are also updated at the RMV in real
time.
Departments access different types of data through the Portal, depending on their
purpose for using the system:
• Finance/Revenue – The Portal allows staff to access a driver’s personal
identifiable information as reported on their Massachusetts licenses: address, birth
date, height, gender, eye color, etc., in order to administer the Commonwealth’s
Motor Vehicle Excise Tax. This tax is required by Massachusetts General Laws
and is levied by the city or town where the vehicle is principally garaged.
The Portal is used when a driver contacts the Revenue office and requests to have
a hold lifted from their account. Per City policy, in order to receive a release,
drivers are required to pay all outstanding Excise bills to the City, regardless of
which bills are on hold. In certain circumstances, the Finance Department will
allow for a payment plan to aid drivers who are experiencing financial hardships.
Payment plans are granted on a case by case basis and require approval from the
Treasurer.
• Finance/Assessing – The Portal allows staff to create excise tax bills for billing
car dealerships with dealer plates. The RMV provides a list of all dealer plates
registered in Cambridge which are then billed for excise taxes.
• Traffic, Parking, and Transportation – The portal allows staff to access a driver’s
name, address, license plate number, registration status, vehicle details, vehicle
addresses and garage code. This information is used to issue resident parking
permits; view handicap placard information and clear holds on licenses and
vehicle registrations.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Enforcing obligations to the City.
• Executing financial transactions between the City and any individual engaged in a
financial transaction with the City.
• Finance/Revenue – The Portal is used in a very limited capacity to release the Non-
Renewal hold at the RMV for a taxpayer who has paid a delinquent Motor Vehicle
Excise tax bill via credit card or cash. The City provides this service to accommodate
those taxpayers who need a release relatively quickly. For instance, a taxpayer may
not even realize they are on RMV hold until they go to the registry to renew their
license or registration. The taxpayer will pay the outstanding bill on-line via credit
card and then call the Finance Office for a release.
• Finance/Assessing – The RMV requires municipalities to use the Atlas Portal for
accessing dealer plate information needed for excise tax billing.
• Traffic, Parking, and Transportation – The Portal assists Parking Services staff in
issuing resident parking permits, viewing handicap placard information, and clearing
holds on licenses and vehicle registrations.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• The Atlas RMV Portal is a web application accessed online, with individual
usernames and passwords.
• An updated Atlas RMV Portal deployed in November 2019. A previous system
had been in place since the early 2000s.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• Finance/Revenue – The Portal provides access to personal identifiable information
about drivers registered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The information that
is found on a Massachusetts issued driver’s license is found on the Portal: address,
birth date, height, gender, eye color, etc. When viewing a driver profile, City users are
able to see any outstanding excise tax bills, parking tickets, and pay-by-plate tickets
that are under the driver’s name. All drivers within the Commonwealth are subject to
Excise tax. Students moving in and out of the city between semesters, and other
individuals coming and going, may lose track of where their vehicle is registered and
may not receive their bill to pay it on time.
Revenue mitigates privacy impacts by only granting access to three employees. The
system requires a username, password, and a unique security code that is sent via
email each time a log in attempt is made. Users are automatically logged out after 10
minutes of inactivity and will be required to re-submit their username, password, and
a new security code to re-enter.
• Finance/Assessing – The Portal provides information that is not available to the
public regarding the number of dealer plates any dealership has in Cambridge. The
Assessing department has limited access to this database to three members of the
department and has requested the least amount of information required for sending
out bills. The Assessing department has requested only vehicle inquiry roles related
to dealer plates and no additional information that could be provided through the
Atlas RMV Portal, such as driver inquiry or access to driving records.
• Traffic, Parking, and Transportation – The Portal allows TPT staff to access detailed
personal information about Cambridge residents. The information accessed is not
collected or stored and the public cannot access it. The information is only accessed
by Parking Services staff when issuing resident parking permits, viewing handicap
placard information, and clearing holds on licenses and vehicle registrations, all of
which are requested by the customer. The data available on the Portal may have a
greater impact on the privacy of those individuals who own a vehicle than those
individuals who do not own a vehicle, since staff only access the vehicle registration
data for resident who own cars. Access to the Portal is password protected and the
Parking Services Staff who use ATLAS receive individual, detailed training which
includes best practices for protecting personal information.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• Finance/Revenue – The City is assessed an RMV fee on the Cherry Sheet
Assessments. Massachusetts Statutes authorize an RMV Surcharge of $20.00 per
each clear transaction made through the Atlas Database. The cost of the RMV
Surcharge is built into the fees that are incurred on bills that have been paid late.
• Finance/Assessing – All costs associated with Assessing’s use for dealer plate billing
are covered by the RMV.
• Traffic, Parking, and Transportation – There are no initial costs associated with Atlas
and all maintenance costs are the responsibility of the Massachusetts RMV. There is a
$20.00 RMV surcharge for clearing registration holds. In FY 2019, there were
17,973 chargeable clears for license and registration holds. Since FY2014, at the
request of the Massachusetts RMV, the City provides an annual non-renewal
reconciliation adjustment amount which is reported to the State Comptroller and then
debited against municipalities’ local aid distributions.
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Consolidating STIRs Nos. 1 & 46 Submitted December 9, 2020)
Department:
Assessing & Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
CPD – CID
Submitted by:
Assessing – Gayle Willett; CPD – Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville
Bard
Date:
2/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
LexisNexis
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• LexisNexis is a search engine. Users pay a fee to searchpublic records and other
information compiled by the provider.
• Assessing – Assesing is seeking to use LexisNexis to review information submitted
by taxpayers seeking residential exemptions and personal exemptions.
• CPD – CPD uses LexisNexis as a research tool to locate people, companies,
businesses, phone numbers, properties and fragments of information; this information
helps to create a more complete picture of what CPD is investigating (e.g., the
Department enters the name and phone number of an individual who had been the
victim of a scam, this search leads us to where the “scammer” found the victim’s
information, potentially creating a solid investigative lead).
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Assessing: Preventing waste, fraud, and abuse of City resources. This data will allow
the Assessing department to vet information received from taxpayers in order to
prevent fraud.
• CPD – Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing
injury to persons or significant damage to property.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
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• Assessing – Will be used in the Assessing Department. Anticipated start date spring
2020.
• CPD – Crime Analysis and Criminal Investigations Division. Currently in use.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has a minimal impact since it is composed of public records.
Anyone can access LexisNexis. The search engine offers various levels of
information depending on subscription cost.
• Assessing will limit access to LexisNexis to two staff members. These are staff who
are currently part of the review process of the exemptions and access to this program
should make their jobs easier. Additionally, the use of the software by the Assessing
department is reviewed by LexisNexis to ensure that it is used only for department
business. LexisNexis can audit the Assessing department to ensure that the data is
being used only for business purposes.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• Assessing - Assessing department budget will cover the costs for two licenses at
$120.00 each, equaling $240.00 per year.
• CPD – Part of Accurint cost.
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SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 2 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Emergency Communications Department
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Emergency Communications Center
Submitted by:
Christina Giacobbe
Date:
2/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
RapidSOS Emergency Data Integration System
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• RapidSOS Emergency Data Integration System (RapidSOS) is a web platform that
provides life-saving data directly to 911 and first responders in an emergency,
providing faster, more effective responses. Callers who contact 911 do so voluntarily
seeking emergency services. RapidSOS integrates data from: personal devices such
as smartphones and smartwatches, motor vehicles’ GPS and crash-detection systems,
and home security systems, to provide real-time emergency data that supplements
information provided during an individual 911 call.
• RapidSOS is deployed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ State 911
Department, which manages and oversees the Next Generation 911 system. This
state system delivers 911 calls to the appropriate jurisdiction and RapidSOS
technology functions as a clearinghouse to present the call to the Public Safety
Answering Point (PSAP), or call center, for emergency response. ECC serves as a
PSAP and is therefore required to access RapidSOS through the State 911 system.
• In Cambridge, when callers contact 911 their call is directed to Emergency
Communications on the state’s Next Generation 911 platform and RapidSOS
provides secondary, data-based location information to ECC through the RapidSOS
clearinghouse The data that is collected at the time of the call is the caller location
and phone number. All 911 calls and caller information are required to be recorded.
These records are kept according to record retention policies through the
administrative portal of the Next General 911 System.
• The State 911 Department is required by law to review and assess all technological
and operational capability of wireless 911 calls being routed and handled directly by
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the PSAP in which the caller is located. The State 911 Department is responsible for
ensuring such capability exists and they establish the standards, by which our PSAP
receives wireless calls.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• The purpose of this technology is to provide ECC Call Takers and Dispatchers with
an accurate phone number and location information of wireless callers who contact
911 in our jurisdiction. This is necessary to provide aid to the caller, dispatch
emergency personnel and provide emergency services. This information also allows
Call Takers and Dispatchers to contact the caller if the call gets disconnected or for
additional follow up.
• This technology supports our ability to maintain the safety and security of City
employees, students, and residents when experiencing an emergency situation. In
addition, this technology allows us to communicate life saving information to first
reponsders.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• The RapidSOS technology is deployed by the State 911 Department to all PSAPs in
the Commonwealth as part of the Next Generation 911 System. The RapidSOS
technology is housed on the State 911 system located in Middleboro and a local
server for our PSAP is located at 125 Sixth Street.
• This technology was implemented in 2018.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• The privacy impact of this technology is consistent with federal, state and local
government policies for the purposes of law enforcement and public safety efforts.
Records of 911 calls received through traditional call processing have previously
included location and phone information provided by cellular carriers, and RapidSOS
provides the same information. However, with the rapid advancement of location-
based technology, our reliance on cellular carriers’ location information has
decreased. The RapidSOS technology provides more accurate location information.
The Next Generation 911 System administered by the State provides also provides
subscriber information, i.e., the name of the person to whom the phone is registered,
as well as the phone address and number. Currently, all callers that contact 911 are
informed that the call is being recorded as required by law.
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• The State 911 Department provides role-based access to the data to ensure protection
of caller information. In ECC/our PSAP, Call Takers and Dispatchers have access to
caller information during the call and for thirty minutes after the call has been
disconnected. Authorized users will have access for performing their duties in
accordance with their role during call processing, quality assurance and investigative
matters.
• Because this technology provides an opportunity for citizens and business to access
emergency services, there may be a greater impact on privacy of the individuals or
businesses who voluntarily provide information to law enforcement officials during
emergencies. The Emergency Communications Department will address these
privacy impacts by limiting access to the information to assigned investigators and/or
authorized users, similarly to current department policy.
• All access to the RapidSOS administrative portal is limited to managers of the ECD
and is password protected.
• The State 911 Department reviews and assesses new communications technologies
that may serve as Next Generation 911 technology platforms, consistent with FCC
decisions and federal law. RapidSOS technology has been thoroughly vetted by the
State to provide life-saving information during emergencies.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
•
There are no associated costs with RapidSOS technology as it is deployed by the
State 911 Department as part of the State Next Generation 911 system.
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SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 3 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Emergency Communications Department
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Police
Submitted by:
Christina Giacobbe
Date:
2/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Trespass Tracking database
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• In Massachusetts, trespassing is a crime. G.L. c266, §120 provides private entities
and departments within the City of Cambridge to obtain a no trespass order against
individuals after providing appropriate posted notice on the property or providing
notice to the person directly by the Cambridge Police Department.
• Information about no trespassing notices/letters provided to individuals through this
process are recorded in the Trespass Tracking database during a call for service. The
Trespass Tracking database is part of CPD & ECC’s Computer Aided Dispatch
(CAD) database. (The CAD is itself a component of CPD’s complete QED/Records
Management System.)
• The information recorded is the trespasser’s name, location of the trespass, and other
identification information if known such as address, who served the order, driver’s
license number and date of the notice’s issue and expiration. The Police Department
is required to maintain these notices. All notices and the information in the notice are
recorded in our Trespass Tracking database so that the information can be made
readily available to first responders during calls for service.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• The purpose of the database is to have a centralized record of all active trespass
notices. The recording of this information is to ensure public safety, in particular the
safety of those impacted by the notice as well as officer safety. In addition, the
Trespass Tracking database allows us to maintain an electronic record of all active
trespass notices in the City in one database in CAD.
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• This technology supports our ability to maintain the safety and security of City
employees, students, and residents in Cambridge. In addition, this technology allows
us to communicate life saving information to first reponders. With this vital
information, police officers are able to identify and prevent threats to persons and
property and prevent injury to persons or significant damage to property.
• The Police Department is able to identify, apprehend, and prosecute criminal
offenders and gather evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and
administrative actions. Providing information to emergency personnel and enforcing
obligations to the City is required to ensure a safe community. Therefore, this
information must be accessed with ease during emergency responses.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• The technology is deployed in the data center at 125 6th Street so that it can connect
to the existing CAD/RMS systems that support the Police Department and
Emergency Communications. The information is maintained in the CAD/QED
system that is deployed in the Emergency Communications Center, Police, and Fire
Departments.
• The department has been utilizing this database for the past ten years.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• The individuals who are recorded in the Trespass Tracking database are notified
verbally and in writing of the notice to not trespass at the said location, and that
notice contains all information stored in the Trespass Tracking database. Therefore,
there is no additional privacy impact through the utilization of this technology as it is
an electronic database of trespass notices that have already been served.
• The records are available electronically through the CAD/QED system to authorized
personnel performing law enforcement duties. However, there are restictions and
access to this database is managed by ECC. There is no public access to this database
and only authorized employees can review on a secure connection.
• This technology stores copies of existing protected Criminal Justice Information
Services (CJIS) information and complies with mandatory CJIS security requirements
for federal, state and local governments. The privacy impact of this technology is
consistent with federal, state and local government policies for the purposes of law
enforcement and public safety efforts.
7
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
•
There are no distinct costs for the Trespass Tracking database as it lives in the
CAD/QED system.
8
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 4 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Executive/City Manager
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Public Information Office & Communications/Community Relations staff
in: Arts Council, Community Development, Department of Human
Service Programs, Library, Police Department, and Public Works
Submitted by:
Lee Gianetti
Date:
12/9/1902/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Media Monitoring - Meltwater
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Meltwater is a software as a service (SaaS) company that monitors media channels
and social media platforms to identify relevant content based on keyword search
terms. Meltwater monitors digital and print media coverage, broadcast and radio
coverage, and social media sites including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and blogs.
The platform collects information through its content partnerships and aggregates
results into different search channels for authorized City users. Additionally, the
platform provides access to its media influencers (media contacts) database, and is
used to distribute city media releases to the public and media.
• Meltwater is used to monitor coverage of the City of Cambridge and key topic areas
of interest (i.e. sustainability, construction, transportation, and Visionzero) to compile
weekly reports to share with internal staff.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Communicating among City employees, with citizens, or with third parties
• Monitoring various digital media sites for publications and information about the City
of Cambridge
• Conducting outreach with members of the media
• Distributing media releases and summary reports
• Conducting analysis on trends
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Meltwater is a web based platform used by authorized city employees.
9
• Meltwater has a mobile application for use by authorizes city employees.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• Meltwater media searches collectscollect publicly available content, both open access
and paywall access. Meltwater social media searches pull from the respective
channelschannels’ “firehoses” and only providesprovide content that is allowed by
the individual user or sitessite’s privacy settings.
• The platform also provides various metrics on each search result and tracks open rates
for media release emails.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• Initial costs: Just annual subscription cost; no additional set-up costs
• Source of Funds: Funds come from the Public Information Office’s OOM budget.
• Ongoing costs: Annual subscription cost is $23,100.
• Personnel costs: N/A
10
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 5 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Executive/City Manager
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Public Information Office & Communications/Community Relations staff
in: Arts Council, Community Development, Library, Police Department
and Public Works
Submitted by:
Lee Gianetti
Date:
12/9/1902/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Social Media Monitoring - Meltwater Engage (Powered by Sprout Social)
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Meltwater Engage, which is powered by Sprout Social, is a software as a service
(SaaS) that allows the City to schedule posts, respond to messages, deploy bots (on
Twitter Direct Messages and Facebook messenger and private messages), store assets,
access customizable analytics reports, and use social listening across networks and
profiles (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn). Additionally,
Meltwater Engage allows for direct connection to external help solutions (to open
service request tickets) and provides a social CRMcustomer relationship management
(CRM) for staff within the platform.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Documenting and improving performance of City employees
• Analyzing and managing service delivery
• Communicating among City employees, with citizens, orand with third parties
• Surveying and gathering feedback from constituents
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Meltwater Engage is a web based platform that used by authorized city employees.
• Meltwater Engage has a mobile application for use by authorizes city employees.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
11
• Meltwater Engage can monitor conversations based on keywords, search operators,
hashtags, geographic area, and user profile name, in addition to the monitoring direct
interactions with city-maintained accounts. Its searches collect publicly available
content and direct private messages sent to City accounts in the platform. Only
content that is allowed by the individual user privacy settings areis visible in the
platform. The platform provides various metrics for measuring content and campaign
performance.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• Initial costs: Just annual subscription cost; no additional set-up costs
• Source of Funds: Funds come from the Public Information Office’s OOM budget.
• Ongoing costs: Annual subscription cost is $33,500.
• Personnel costs: N/A
12
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR Submitted January 22, 2020)
Department:
Cambridge FireFire
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
EMS Paramedics
Submitted by:
Acting Chief Gerard E. Mahoney, Acting Chief
Date:
1/222/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Verathon Corporation's Glidescope Go video laryngoscope.
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Cambridge FireFire proposes to use the Verathon Corporation's Glidescope Go video
laryngoscope. This is a medical device that facilitates critical medical care by
capturing video of the back of the throat of an unconscious person in order to place
an endotracheal tube (breathing tube).
• A laryngoscope is a medical device, essentially a curved tongue depressor with a
light at the end, that lifts the tongue out of the way and allows a paramedic to look
through the patient's mouth and see the patient's tracheal opening in order to place a
breathing tube in the trachea (also known as intubation).
• Patients who require breathing tubes are the most critical patients we see, and
usually are not breathing at all. In order to facilitate faster and more accurate
breathing tube placement and improve outcomes, video laryngoscopy has been
developed, which places a camera at the end of the device and a small video screen
attached so the paramedic can see the tracheal opening better.
•
Glidescope GO records video only.on a mini SD card. There is no audio or data
recording.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Documenting and improving performance of City employees.
13
• The purpose of the technology is to improveImproving critical health care processes
and outcomes in order to provide the best available medical care to the residents and
visitors of the City of Cambridge.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• This technology will be on the CFD's Paramedic units, and will also be used in
training with manikins. The video laryngoscopes will be acquired before June
30,2020 and deployed in or around May 2020as soon as is practicable.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• The privacy impact will be zero. There are no patient identifiers associated with
thedevice is a simple video in the camera that stores the video on a removable mini
SD card. The instrument. itself does not have the capacity to capture or store any
images or data. If the device is used, the SD card will be secured until the video is
uploaded into a HIPAA- compliant server, then the file on the SD card will be
deleted.
• There is a slight chance that the camera could catch a very quick, low resolution
image (~1.25 ip/mm according to the engineers) of part of the patient’s face while
being inserted or removed. The operator will be moving fast because the patient is
not breathing and the paramedic will be focused on placing the endotracheal tube
quickly. Therefore, the probability of capturing a stable image of the full face is
slim.
• When the video is uploaded into a patient’s chart or other data storage, itany image
of the face will be considered protected health information and access will be
severely limitedProtected Health Information (PHI) in accordance with the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Access to PHI is password
protected with several levels of access, and each user has only the access they
absolutely need (quality improvement, billing, etc.).
• If the video is used in case review or training, there will be no patient identifiers
associated with it., and only the relevant part of the video, the back of the airway and
vocal cords, will be used. Any capture of the patient’s face will be obscured at the
least, and most likely trimmed off the beginning/end of the video.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
14
• The initialInitial costs: $24,784. Initial funding will be $24,784.00, which will be
fundedprovided by a federal grant. This
• Ongoing maintenance: The initial purchase includes 120 disposable blades. Once the
initial supply of blades is exhausted, replacement blades will be purchased by CFD
at a cost of $40-$52 each, depending on the style of blade. Training and Quality
Improvement costs are impossible to determine, because they will be embedded
within our standard training and quality processes. Ongoing costs will be funded
through federal grants if available at the time, or through the CFD budget.
15
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 9 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Law
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Submitted by:
Nancy Glowa
Date:
12/9/192/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
WestLaw Public Records Search function
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• WestLaw’s public records search function is used to gather publicly available
information concerning litigants such as other lawsuits filed, judgments, convictions,
warrants, bankruptcies, property records, and other publicly available filings or
documents.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions.
• Preventing waste, fraud, and abuse of City resources.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• On an as-needed basis in litigation.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• The technology searches for public records based on documents filed in courts,
registry of deeds, and other publicly available sources.
• None.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
16
• The WestLaw subscription total cost is bundled and not broken down by feature,
therefore the cost for this specific feature is unknown.
17
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Consolidating STIRs Nos. 10 & 47 Submitted December 9, 2020)
Department:
Mayor’s Office, Council Office & Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
CPD – PIO
Submitted by:
Mayor’s Office & Council Office – Naomie Stephen; CPD – Jim
MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
2/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
Tweetdeck – Social media monitoring software through Twitter
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• TweetDeck is a social media dashboard application for management of Twitter
accounts. Originally an independent app, TweetDeck was subsequently acquired by
Twitter Inc. and integrated into Twitter's interface.
• Tweetdeck allows users to organize and search Tweets in various ways. From
Twitter1:
o Collections – With collections, you can organize Tweets according to topics,
events, interests, conversations, and more, all in real-time. Add your
collections as columns and Tweet the URL to share it with others.
o Search Typeahead – When you begin to type characters into the search box,
TweetDeck will run a real-time search that attempts to autocomplete your
search term, surfacing potentially relevant search topics and accounts.
Different search topics will be shown on the top half of the drop-down menu,
whereas user accounts will be shown on the bottom half. If you select one of
the suggested search terms, you will be given the option to browse users
related to that search topic or Tweets related to that search term.
o Sentiment – It’s easy to uncover sentiment surrounding a topic; simply search
for a topic followed by a happy or sad emoticon. For example, you can create
a search column with the keyword "San Francisco :)" to see Tweets regarding
San Francisco in a positive manner.
1 See About advanced Tweetdeck features at https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/advanced-tweetdeck-features
18
o Column filters – TweetDeck’s column filters are a powerful way to
customize searches by keyword, date and time, and to stay on top of new
Tweets as columns quickly update.
▪ Content: Tweets matching keywords, media type, dates and time,
language, or including or excluding Retweets
▪ Location: Tweets geotagged in a specified locations
▪ Users: Tweets from a specific account, members of a List, or verified
accounts
▪ Engagement: Tweets with a minimum number of Retweets, likes, or
replies
▪ Alerts: Tweet alerts through sound or desktop notifications
o List management – TweetDeck allows you to manage your Lists easily in
one centralized place for all your accounts. You can create Lists in
TweetDeck filtered by your interests or by particular accounts. Any List that
you have set up or subscribed to previously can also be added as separate
columns in TweetDeck.
o Tweets from a specific account – You can designate a column to display a
specific account’s Tweets. Just add a Tweet column and search for the
account you would like featured in the search box.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• CPD
o Providing information to emergency personnel
o Analyzing and managing service delivery
o Documenting and improving performance of City employees
o Surveying and gathering feedback from constituents
• Mayor’s Office & Council Office – Surveying and gathering feedback from
constituents. More frequently, people are using Twitter to communicate their
constituent concerns or issues with City services much in the same way that they
would send an email.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Through City-issued computers and laptops, the technology is available continuously.
• CPD – Public Information Office
• Mayor’s Office & Council Office – While not in use at this time, the Mayor’s Office
and City Council Office anticipate that staff could use this technology in the future, as
former Mayors’ staff has done.
19
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has a minimal impact as the software merely aggregates publicly
available Twitter posts and mentions.
• Tweets complied by Tweetdeck potentially collect all Tweets responding to
designated search criteria that are Public (see definition below) and Protected Tweets
if a City account follows that person. In each case, staff would only be able to see
information that a person has chosen to release publicly on their Twitter account, in
accordance with Twitter’s Terms and Conditions. Obviously, the search also only
applies to people who use Twitter, and only those who include identifiable
information on their account (some accounts, for example, are anonymous, use a nom
de plume or, perhaps more appropriately, nom de guerre).
Impacts to privacy would likely not be felt by any individual, as a simple search of
one’s Twitter profile shows all Tweets, likes, retweets, and other activity from a user
over the course of that profile’s existence, and Tweetdeck would not provide any
additional information than could be found during such a search.
• Additional information from Twitter:
o What is the difference between public and protected Tweets?
▪ When you sign up for Twitter, your Tweets are public by default;
anyone can view and interact with your Tweets. Should you choose to
protect your Tweets, you can do so through your account settings.
▪ If you protect your Tweets, you’ll receive a request when new people
want to follow you, which you can approve or deny. Accounts that
began following you before you protected your Tweets will still be
able to view and interact with your protected Tweets unless you block
them.
o Who can see my Tweets?
▪ Public Tweets (the default setting): Are visible to anyone, whether or
not they have a Twitter account.
▪ Protected Tweets: Only visible to your Twitter followers. Please keep
in mind, your followers may still capture images of your Tweets and
share them.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
20
• Tweetdeck is free through Twitter.
• Personnel costs are minimal as Tweetdeck is only passively monitored.
21
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 11 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Crime Analysis Unit
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Accurint Workstation
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Crime Analysis Software for analysis, mapping, etc
• The Accurint Workstation is a software program utilized by CPD to analyze and map
incident data from the Department’s Incident Database, including arrest and incident
reports; information contained in this database is gathered directly from QED, the
Department’s Records Management System (RMS).
• The Department uses this software to produce daily, monthly and yearly maps; many
that are disseminated publicly in various formats (Public Safety Bulletins, monthly
Bridgestat, CPD Annual Crime Report, etc.).
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying trends and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing
injury to persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
• The purpose of the Incident Database is to create a “condensed and corrected”
accounting of QED arrest and incident reports for purpose of crime incident
reporting.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Crime Analysis
22
• The Accurint Workstation is a software program used by the Crime Analysis Unit.
The software is used on a daily basis. The Accurint Mapping product has been used
by CPD for slightly more than 1 year.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has a minimal impact as the software analyzes incident data
fromalready stored in the Department’s records management system. The Department
is required by state and federal law, as well as court procedural rules to document a
variety of police encounters, whether for criminal, civil or administrative matters.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• $30,000 per year; previously budgeted through E-Gov but CPD anticipates funding
will be included in the police budget beginning FY’21.
23
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 12 Submitted December 9, 2019; Supplemented January 22, 2020)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Crime Analysis (and CID)
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
BRIC Omega Dashboard
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• BRIC Omega Dashboard is the Intel portal for Boston Regional Intelligence Center
(BRIC). The BRIC works at the forefront of intelligence collection and analysis. The
BRIC allows for a regional approach to analyze whether crimes are interconnected by
geography, type, or method. The BRIC covers the Metro Boston Homeland Security
Region (MBHSR), consisting of: Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett,
Quincy, Revere, Somerville, Winthrop, The Greater Boston Police Council (Boston
Area Police Emergency Radio Network—BAPERN), Massachusetts Bay
Transportation Authority (MBTA), Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), and
Metro Fire Association.
• In order to have the most complete accounting of what crimes and trends are
impacting the region, it is necessary for all cities and towns, including Cambridge to
contribute intelligence information. As such, the Cambridge Police Department
contributes the following information: Approved arrest reports and Field Interview
and Observation (FIO) reports for certain cases (Confidential items, i.e., specifically
marked domestic, juvenile, and sexual assault reports are excluded).
• Intel portal for Boston Regional Intel CTR
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
24
• Intelligence information is fundamental to the prevention of crime and violence. The
use of regional intelligence enables CPD to make better informed decisions to combat
crime and terrorism committed by individuals and organizations. Intelligence also
helps with decisions pertaining to the deployment of resources throughout the City
and region.
• The BRIC frequently produces Officer Safety and Public Safety bulletins. Crime is
not an isolated phenomena and Cambridge does not exist in a vaccuum; therefore, it
is necessary for Cambridge to understand crime as it occurs throughout the region, as
any crime committed in the region has the potential to impact crime and safety in
Cambridge.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Crime Analysis Unit and Criminal Investigation Division: The BRIC Omega
Dashboard’s usage and access is limited to members of the Procedural Justice Section
(Crime Analysis) and the Criminal Investigation Divisions; as the Department
analyzes and investigates criminal activity.
• Access to the BRIC Omega Dashboard (by personnel outside of the CPD) is
determined by the BRIC.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• Anytime that large amounts of intelligence information are gathered, significant
privacy implications exist. The BRIC maintains a strict policy designed to “protect
individual privacy, civil rights, civil liberties, and other protected interests”.2
o The 43-page policy states [in part]: The BRIC will not seek or retain and
originating agencies will agree to not submit information about individuals or
organizations solely on the basis of their religious, political, or social views or
activities; their participation in a particular noncriminal organization or lawful
event; or their races, ethnicities, citizenship, places of origin, ages, disabilities,
genders, or sexual orientation.
• The Cambridge Police are committed to responsibly accessing regional systems in
manners that are consistent with Cambridge values and in compliance with its
ordinances and practices. Based on its current usage and the significant safeguards in
2Boston Regional Intelligence Center Privacy, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Protection Policy
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5086f19ce4b0ad16ff15598d/t/53449a84e4b0425649a10bb3/1397004932
621/BRICPrivacyCivilRightsCivilLibertiesProtectionPolicy.pdf
25
place, this technology has a minimal privacy impact on Cantabrigians and
surrounding communities.
• This technology has a minimal impact as it analyzes and maps incident data from the
surrounding communities. Allows regional approach to analyze whether crimes are
interconnected by geography, type, or method.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• The BRIC Omega Dashboard has no financial costs to the City of Cambridge. It is
funded by the Department of Homeland Security.
• None
26
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 13 Submitted December 9, 2019; Supplemented January 22, 2020)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Crime Analysis (and CID)
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
Coplink
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Nespin portal for exchange of criminal justice incident reports.
• COPLINK is one of the “solutions and services” provided through NESPIN (New
England State Police Information Network®). COPLINK is a data sharing and crime
analytics platform.
• NESPIN is the local arm of a national project known as the RISS Program (Regional
Information Sharing Systems). The goal of RISS is to assist local, state, federal and
tribal Criminal Justice partners by providing adaptive solutions and services that
facilitate information sharing, support criminal investigations, and promote officer
safety.3 NESPIN is one of only six RISS centers operating nationwide.
• In order to have the most complete accounting of what crimes and trends are
impacting the region (statewide), it is necessary for all cities and towns, including
Cambridge to contribute intelligence information. As such, the Cambridge Police
Department contributes the following information: Approved arrest reports and Field
Interview and Observation (FIO) reports for certain cases (Confidential items, i.e.,
specifically marked domestic, juvenile, and sexual assault reports are excluded).
• Currently there are 280 cities and towns of the Commonwealth that contribute and
utilize COPLINK.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
3 Riss.net/about-us/
27
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
• As noted on its website, COPLINK is utilized by CPD personnel to improve officer
and community safety, identify high concentration of crime in order to reduce crime
and prioritize resource reallocation, identify crime trends as they occur in real-time,
and develop data-driven tools to improve crime analysis and operational
effectiveness. COPLINK has also proven useful in fulfilling requirements related to
the issuance of License to Carry Firearms and background checks for Public Safety.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Crime Analysis and Criminal Investigation Division.
• Crime Analysis Unit and Criminal Investigation Division: typically access to
COPLINK (via NESPIN) is reserved to those members of the department assigned to
Crime Analysis and Criminal Investigations; however, there are times when other
members may be granted access. Because COPLINK contains Criminal Offender
Record Information (CORI), only authorized persons in the performance of their
official duties may access, use or disseminate this information for official and lawful
criminal justice purposes.
• Access to the COPLINK (by personnel outside of the CPD) is determined by the
NESPIN/RISS.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• Anytime that large amounts of intelligence information are gathered, significant
privacy implications exist. The NESPIN/RISS Centers operate their intelligence
system under the Criminal Intelligence Systems Operating Policies (28 Code of
Federal Regulations [CFR] Part 23). All RISS member agencies have agreed to
comply with the requirements of 28 CFR Part 23 with respect to any criminal
information they submit into an applicable RISS Criminal Intelligence Database
(RISS/Intel). RISS has adopted a comprehensive privacy policy to protect individual
privacy, civil rights, civil liberties, and other protected interests.4
4 See RISS's Commitment to Safeguarding Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties at
https://www.riss.net/policy/riss-commitment-to-privacy/.
28
• The Cambridge Police Department is committed to responsibly accessing regional
systems in manners that are consistent with Cambridge values and in compliance with
its ordinances and practices.
• FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY: COPLINK’s user license account
includes access to FaceMatch® and/or other facial recognition technology. Access to
this technology has been banned pursuant to the prohibition created by City
Ordinance Chapter 2.128 Surveillance Technology Ordinance (Effective
12/10/2019—amended 01/13/2020). Effective January 2020, Forensic
Logic/COPLINK has removed the ability to access facial recognition technology
from all CPD user accounts.
o Additionally, the Cambridge Police Department is drafting an internal Policy
to provide additional guidance. That Policy will state: “…Members of the
Cambridge Police Department SHALL NOT access such technology in the
performance of official duties. Members of the Cambridge Police Department
SHALL NOT access such technology while on duty for any type of use.
Members of the department SHALL NOT knowingly use data which
originates from facial recognition technology…”
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• Not available.RISS/NESPIN/COPLINK has no financial costs to the City of
Cambridge. It is funded by the federal government. The actual cost is unknown at this
time.
29
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 14 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Police Department
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
2/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
QED Records Management System
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• QED currently functions as CPD’s Record Management System (RMS). A records
management system (RMS) is “an agency-wide system that provides for the storage,
retrieval, retention, manipulation, archiving, and viewing of information, records,
documents, or files pertaining to law enforcement operations. In this context, records
are limited to documents or electronic files directly related to law enforcement
operations such as incident and accident reports, arrests, citations, warrants, case
management, field contacts, etc.”5
• Nearly all information that comes to the Department interacts with its RMS and it has
implications for data collection for most all systems and processes, including but not
limited to: Calls for service (Computer Aided Dispatch CAD), Incident Reporting,
Investigative Case Management, Traffic Accident Reporting, Citations, Field
Contacts, Pawns, Civil processes, Protective/Restraint Orders, Permits and Licences,
etc.
• The Cambridge RMS satisfies the specifications required by the Bureau of Justice
Assistance (BJA). According to the, “Standard Functional Specifications for Law
Enforcement Records Management Systems (RMS)”6, published by the Bureau of
Justice Assistance (BJA), a Law Enforcement RMS must: Allow for Single entry (i.e.,
no duplicate data entry), should automatically submit data to external sources as
defined by the agency, enable the ability to enter and query narrative(s)/text fields,
provide capability to access multiple systems from a single RMS workstation, create
5 https://it.ojp.gov/documents/LEITSC_Law_Enforcement_RMS_Systems.pdf
6 https://it.ojp.gov/documents/LEITSC_Law_Enforcement_RMS_Systems.pdf
30
a single database (i.e., virtual or physical), and have validation on data entry (i.e.,
logical edits, edit checks for all fields).
o Additionally, according to the BJA standards, an RMS should provide the
capabilities for users to generate inquiries to internal and external data
sources—such as state Department of Motor Vehicles and criminal history
files, as well as the National Crime Information Center (NCIC)—from within
each module where such inquiries make sense.
o It must also provide the user with the ability to reuse and/or import data
returned from external sources to eliminate redundant data entry.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• A records management system (RMS) is an agency-wide system that provides for the
storage, retrieval, retention, manipulation, archiving, and viewing of information,
records, documents, or files pertaining to law enforcement operations. In this context,
records are limited to documents or electronic files directly related to law
enforcement operations such as incident and accident reports, arrests, citations,
warrants, case management, field contacts, etc.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• QED is utilized by the entire Department. QED gathers information from several
areas throughout the department and Public Safety Systems.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• Anytime that large amounts of intelligence information are gathered, significant
privacy implications exist. QED serves as the central report writing and incident
documentation system for the Department. The Department is required by state and
federal law, as well as court procedural rules to document a variety of police
encounters, whether for criminal, civil or administrative matters.
• The Cambridge Police Department is committed to responsibly maintaining systems
in manners that are consistent with Cambridge values and in compliance with its
ordinances and practices. Only CJIS Compliant Certified Public Safety Employees in
the performance of their official duties may access, use or disseminate information
contained in QED for official and lawful criminal justice purposes. Based on its
current usage and the significant safeguards in place, this technology has a minimal
privacy impact on Cantabrigians and surrounding communities.
31
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• QED is a longstanding multi-agency product (Police, Fire, ECD). Its initial costs are
unknown. According the Director of ECD the combined annual maintenance cost for
all three agencies is $60K.
32
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 15 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Crime Analysis
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Incident Database
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• The Incident Database is a Microsoft® Access database of corrected Records
Management System Data. The database is used to “clean up” or to keep a more
accurate record of the data that comes into the Records Management System (RMS)
(i.e., initially an entry may be coded as a Larceny Motor Vehicle (L-MV) but through
investigation it is determined to be a House Break where a L-MV also occurred—this
database accurately reflects the appropriate Uniform Crime Reporting/National
Incident-Based Reporting System code).
• Access database of corrected RMS Data
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
• This database is a condensed and corrected accounting of QED incidents for purposes
of crime incident statistical reporting.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Access to this database is limited to members of Crime Analysis Unit.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
33
• This technology has a minimal impact. Anytime that large amounts of intelligence
information are gathered, significant privacy implications exist. This database is a
condensed and corrected accounting of QED incidents for purposes of crime incident
statistical reporting. The Department is required by state and federal law, as well as
court procedural rules to document a variety of police encounters, whether for
criminal, civil or administrative matters.
• The Cambridge Police Department is committed to responsibly maintaining systems
in manners that are consistent with Cambridge values and in compliance with its
ordinances and practices. Only CJIS Compliant Certified Public Safety Employees in
the performance of their official duties may access, use or disseminate information
contained in this “limited” database for official and lawful criminal justice purposes.
Based on its current usage and the significant safeguards in place, this technology has
a minimal privacy impact on Cantabrigians and surrounding communities.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• This database is created using Microsoft® Access, available through the City’s
Microsoft Office suite, and is of little to no cost to the Department.
• None.
34
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 16 Submitted December 9, 2019; Supplemented January 22, 2020)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Crime Analysis
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
2/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
CLEAR
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• CLEAR® is a Public Records search engine. For a fee, CLEAR’s database provides
access to thousands of data sets including, address, phone numbers, billing (utilities,
etc.) and credit-related information through public records and publically available
sources. According to its website:
o “Thomson Reuters CLEAR® is powered by billions of data points and
leverages cutting-edge public records technology to bring all key content
together in a customizable dashboard. Locate hard-to-find information and
quickly identify potential concerns associated with people and businesses to
determine if further analysis is needed. The user-friendly platform was
designed with intuitive navigation and simple filtering parameters, so you can
quickly search across thousands of data sets and get accurate results in less
time.”
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Locating victims and witnesses of crimes
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
• Analyzing criminal activity and assisting with background investigations.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
35
• Typically, this technology is reserved for members assigned to the Criminal
Investigations Section.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• Anytime large quantities of data and information are accessed, even when those
data/information are publicly available, significant privacy implications exist.
Thomson Reuters’ CLEAR boast providing access to “billions of data points and
thousands of datasets”. Thompson Reuters is a private, for-profit company that
provides its service for a fee. The Cambridge Police Department is committed to
responsibly accessing this service in a manner that is consistent with Cambridge’s
values. The likelihood of disparately impacting a particular population via using this
technology is small, as it has broad uses, aimed at providing information to assist the
Department in providing services for those who have been harmed and locating those
who have caused the harm.
• CLEAR is subscription-based and access to certain levels of information is governed
by the user’s level of subscription. In addition to accessing these public records to
gather information on criminal suspects, the Department utilizes CLEAR to locate
victims, witnesses and to verify background information on applicants (Public Safety
Employment or License to Carry Firearms (LTC)). Through the Department’s Legal
Advisor, it has been confirmed that CPD does not have subscription access to
advance features such as CLEAR LPR which contains information obtained via
License Plate Recognition Technology.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• CPD currently has access to 5 licenses furnished to the Department by the Urban
Area Security Initiative (UASI) at no cost to the agency. Information as to actual cost
was not furnished by UASI.
36
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 17 Submitted December 9, 2019; Supplemented January 22, 2020)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Crime Analysis and Focussed Deterrence Unit
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Focused Deterrence Database
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Algorithm to analyze RMS data
• The Focused Deterrence Database uses an algorithm to analyze Records Management
System (RMS) data based on past arrest and incident reports. The database algorithm
identifies individuals who most recently have caused or been the subject of (i.e.,
victim/survivor) the greatest social harm and could currently benefit from social
services and a case manager (offender or victim/survivor). CPD reaches out to
individuals identified through the Database to offer them the option of joining the
Focused Deterrence Program.
• “Focused Deterrence” in terms of policing is a strategy that aims to deter specific
criminal behavior through fear of specific sanctions, as well as anticipation of
benefits for not engaging in crime. In its initial iteration here in Cambridge, Focused
Deterrence closely resembled this. There have always been “variants” of the Focused
Deterrence program in practice; here in Cambridge, Focused Deterrence has morphed
into an altogether different program.
• Focused Deterrence in Cambridge does not utilize a predictive policing program,
through the Focused Deterrence Database or otherwise. The department does not have
a “gang database” (or any semblance thereof) and instead pulls information directly
from the CPD RMS.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Assisting those who have most recently been the subject of the greatest amount of
social harm and who could currently benefit from social services.
37
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Crime Analysis Unit and Focussed Deterrence Unit
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has a minimal impact as it analyzes existing incident reports from the
Department’s Records Management System.RMS. The Department is required by
state and federal law, as well as court procedural rules to document a variety of police
encounters, whether for criminal, civil or administrative matters. The algorithm
utilizes factors such as “role” played and “when” the incident occurred (allowing for
a decaying weighted analysis). Additionally, crimes are weighted in strict accordance
with Massachusetts Sentencing Guidelines.
• The Department is committed to responsibly utilizing data in a way that is protective
of privacy, civil rights and civil liberties. The potential for a widespread or disparate
impact is limited; currently 6 individuals are in the Focused Deterrence program. As a
point of reference, the Focused Deterrence database was not utilized for the
2019/2020 Focused Deterrence firearms violence program. Involved parties were
identified through RMS arrest and firearms incident reports from the previous three
years.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• There is no cost associated with this technology; two CPD Detectives are assigned to
this program in addition to their other duties/responsibilities.
• None.
38
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 18 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Crime Analysis
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
LENS (Law Enforcement Notification System)
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Federal Probation Database (active Cambridge federal probationers)
• The Law Enforcement Notification System (LENS) is a web-based system which
provides local law enforcement with information on federal offenders currently on
supervision with the U.S. Courts. This release of information is required by the
Violent Crime Control Act of 1994. Qualifying offenders include those convicted of
certain drug trafficking crimes, crimes of violence, sex offenses and those convicted
of internet child pornography offenses included as part of the Sex Offender
Registration and Notification Act. LENS does not include offender information for
those convicted in state or local jurisdictions nor does it include federal offenders
convicted of non-qualifying offenses. LENS allows real time updates regarding these
offenders, provides the ability to search neighboring jurisdictions and nationwide.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Crime Analysis Unit
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
39
• This technology has a minimal impact as the Department only has access to
information about those individuals who are Cambridge residents that are on federal
probation. The information is accessed via restricted web site for official use only and
provided through federally managed application/portal. Only CJIS Compliant
Certified Public Safety Employees in the performance of their official duties may
access, use or disseminate information contained in LENS for official and lawful
criminal justice purposes. The LENS web site informs users that “…Unauthorized use
is subject to prosecution under Title 18 of the U.S. Code”, and that “…all activities
and access attempts are logged”.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• There are no costs to CPD, the program is federally managed and funded. None.
40
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 19 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
CID Days; DV/SA; Cyber
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
GPS Tracking Devices (2)
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Location tracking through satellite triangulation
•
Global Positioning System (GPS) is a technology that makes possible exact
location tracking through satellite trilateration (sometimes mistakenly refered to as
triangulation) using a network of satellites orbiting the Earth. The satellites are able to
communicate with specialized receivers on the ground, providing the exact location
of the receiver.
• The CPD possess and utilizes two of these receivers to assist in certain criminal
investigations (thefts of bicycles and pacakages). A GPS device is attached to a
bicycle or package that might be stolen and, if a theft occurs, CPD tracks the item.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Various locations throughout the City of Cambridge on an as needed basis (e.g.,
Bicycle Package Theft Sting Operations)
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
41
• While the privacy implications for tracking individuals and items using GPS are
wide-ranging; the technology as currently employed by the Cambridge Police
Department should have no privacy impact because it is only utilized to track
property (bikes/packages) stolen from the Cambridge Police Department.
• This technology should have no privacy impact since it is utilized to track property
(bikes/packages) stolen from the Cambridge Police Department.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• The initial purchase price of this equipment was not available.
42
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 20 Submitted December 9, 2019; Supplemented January 22, 2020)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
CID Days; DV/SA; Cyber
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Digital Intelligence Workstation
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Desktop computer hardware
• Digital Intelligence Workstation is one of many tools utilized by the Criminal
Investigation’s Cybercrime Unit to investigate computer-related crimes. This
hardware allows Cybercrime Detectives to “image” a hard-drive for future analysis
by computer software tools (Axiom-Magnet Forensics and/or Getdata Forensic
Explorer). This technology is used in conjuction with other technologies:
o Axiom-Magnet Forensics is software that can analyze the history of a file,
recover digital evidence and analyze and report on digital evidence.
o Getdata Forensic Explorer is software that can analyze digital evidence by
locating, filtering, sorting and keyword searching.
o Dell Laptop BCERT is hardware that is utilized to recover evidence from
computer equipment (hard-drives, etc.).
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
• The technology is necessary to perform investigative functions in an increasingly
“digital” world. It is utilized for a vast array of criminal investigations as well as non-
criminal purposes: (1) where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, (2) after
consent is provided, or (3) where a search warrant is obtained.
43
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Criminal Investigation’s Cybercrime Unit
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has a minimal impact as it is utilized on property (phones,
computers, etc.) where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, after consent is
provided or a search warrant is obtained. This technology is used in a wide berth of
situations and the Cambridge Police Department is committed to using this
technology responsibly and obtaining a search warrant in all situations that it be
necessary.
• The investigative capabilities contained herein are necessary tools for modern law
enforcement.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• We have not been able to determine this cost. None
44
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 21 Submitted December 9, 2019; Supplemented January 22, 2020)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
CID Days; DV/SA; Cyber
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Dell Laptop BCERT
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Hardware for computer evidence recovery
• Dell Laptop BCERT is hardware that is utilized to recover evidence from computer
equipment (hard-drives, etc.). This technology is used in conjuction with other
technologies:
o Digital Intelligence Workstation is one of many tools utilized by the Criminal
Investigation’s Cybercrime Unit to investigate computer-related crimes. This
hardware allows Cybercrime Detectives to “image” a hard-drive for future
analysis by computer software tools (Axiom-Magnet Forensics and/or Getdata
Forensic Explorer).
o Axiom-Magnet Forensics is software that can analyze the history of a file,
recover digital evidence and analyze and report on digital evidence.
o Getdata Forensic Explorer is software that can analyze digital evidence by
locating, filtering, sorting and keyword searching.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
• The technology is necessary to perform investigative functions in an increasingly
“digital” world. It is utilized for a vast array of criminal investigations as well as non-
criminal purposes: (1) where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, (2) after
consent is provided, or (3) where a search warrant is obtained.
45
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Criminal Investigation’s Cybercrime Unit
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology is used in a wide berth of situations and the Cambridge Police
Department is committed to using this technology responsibly and obtaining a search
warrant in all situations that it be necessary.
• The investigative capabilities contained herein are necessary tools for modern law
enforcement.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• We have not been able to determine this cost. None.
46
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 22 Submitted December 9, 2019; Supplemented January 22, 2020)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
CID Days; DV/SA; Cyber
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Magnet Forensics - Axiom
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Forensics software for computers & mobile devices
• Axiom-Magnet Forensics is software that can analyze the history of a file, recover
digital evidence and analyze and report on digital evidence. This technology is used
in conjuction with other technologies:
o Dell Laptop BCERT is hardware that is utilized to recover evidence from
computer equipment (hard-drives, etc.).
o Digital Intelligence Workstation is one of many tools utilized by the Criminal
Investigation’s Cybercrime Unit to investigate computer-related crimes. This
hardware allows Cybercrime Detectives to “image” a hard-drive for future
analysis by computer software tools (Axiom-Magnet Forensics and/or Getdata
Forensic Explorer).
o Getdata Forensic Explorer is software that can analyze digital evidence by
locating, filtering, sorting and keyword searching.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
• The technology is necessary to perform investigative functions in an increasingly
“digital” world. It is utilized for a vast array of criminal investigations as well as non-
criminal purposes: (1) where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, (2) after
consent is provided, or (3) where a search warrant is obtained.
47
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Criminal Investigation’s Cybercrime Unit
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has a minimal impact as it is utilized on property (phones,
computers, etc.) where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, after consent is
provided or a search warrant is obtained. The investigative capabilities contained
herein are necessary tools for modern law enforcement.
• This technology is used in a wide berth of situations and the Cambridge Police
Department is committed to using this technology responsibly and obtaining a search
warrant in all situations that it be necessary.
• The investigative capabilities contained herein are necessary tools for modern law
enforcement.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• We have not been able to determine this cost.
48
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 23 Submitted December 9, 2019; Supplemented January 22, 2020)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
CID Days; DV/SA; Cyber
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Getdata Forensic Explorer
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Software for analysis of digital evidence
• Getdata Forensic Explorer is software that can analyze digital evidence by locating,
filtering, sorting and keyword searching. This technology is used in conjuction with
other technologies:
o Axiom-Magnet Forensics is software that can analyze the history of a file,
recover digital evidence and analyze and report on digital evidence.
o Dell Laptop BCERT is hardware that is utilized to recover evidence from
computer equipment (hard-drives, etc.).
o Digital Intelligence Workstation is one of many tools utilized by the Criminal
Investigation’s Cybercrime Unit to investigate computer-related crimes. This
hardware allows Cybercrime Detectives to “image” a hard-drive for future
analysis by computer software tools (Axiom-Magnet Forensics and/or Getdata
Forensic Explorer).
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
• The technology is necessary to perform investigative functions in an increasingly
“digital” world. It is utilized for a vast array of criminal investigations as well as non-
criminal purposes: (1) where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, (2) after
consent is provided, or (3) where a search warrant is obtained.
49
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Criminal Investigation’s Cybercrime Unit
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has a minimal impact as it is utilized on property (phones,
computers, etc.) where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, after consent is
provided or a search warrant is obtained. This technology is used in a wide berth of
situations and the Cambridge Police Department is committed to using this
technology responsibly and obtaining a search warrant in all situations that it be
necessary.
• The investigative capabilities contained herein are necessary tools for modern law
enforcement.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• unavailable.We have not been able to determine this cost.
50
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Consolidating STIRs Nos. 25, 26 & 28 Submitted December 9, 2020; Supplemented
January 22, 2020)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
SIU
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
2/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
Covert Cameras (Keltech Covert Streetlight Camera, CSA Pole Camera,
IVC Covert Camera)
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Covert cameras are deployed only in serious cases that pose a significant security or
public safety risk. Cameras are placed in specified locations to capture images of
suspected illegal activity.
• These devices are not capable of recording audio, cannot capture license plate
information, and do not possess a search function. The IVC Covert Camera does
have pan, tilt, and zoom capabilities.
• These cameras are not permanently deployed.
• Per policy, these cameras cannot be deployed without the approval of a Police
Superintendent or the Police Commissioner.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Across the City, on an as-needed basis.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
54
• This technology has minimal impact as it is typically used for brief periods in public
spaces that do not implicate constitutional protections.
• This technology is only used in constitutionally protected spaces with consent, a
search warrant or exigent circumstances.
o Note: This technology has been/is used in protected spaces during
investigations with third-party consent: (e.g., complainant thought that the
presence of dead animals on multiple occasions may have been some type of
threat; permission was given for CPD to place covert camera in protected
space to capture image of culprit; it was determined that the dead animals
were being placed by another animal).
• Equipment/software does not possess a “search” function and cannot record license
plates or other personally identifying information other than images of the individuals
themselves.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• unavailable.We have not been able to determine the cost of this technology.
55
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 27 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
SIU
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
DTC body wire
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Audio surveillance
• Body wire is an audio surveillance device and is only used for officer safety purposes
during undercover operations (controlled drug buys, prosititution stings, human
trafficking, etc.). An officer wears the body wire to record audio of their
surroundings.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Promoting officer safety during undercover operations
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Maintaining the safety and security of City employees, students, customers, and City-
owned or controlled buildings
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Across the City, on an as-needed basis.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has minimal impact as it is used for officer safety purposes during
controlled drug buys, prostitution stings and human trafficking operations.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
56
• We have not been able to determine the initial cost of this technology.Not available
57
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 29 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Crime Scene Services
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Morpho Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) with camera
(Massachusetts State Police (MSP) System)
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• FingerprintMorpho is a fingerprint database withthrough the MSP.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Crime Scene Services
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has a minimal impactimpacts the privacy of individuals with
fingerprints stored in the MSP database. It allows the Department’s Crime Scene
Serves Section to compare unknown latent fingerprints to a state database of known
fingerprints when investigating criminal activity.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• $4,571 in The initial purchase price of this equipment is unavailable; annual
maintenance costs are $4,571.
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SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Consolidating STIRs Nos. 30-32 Submitted December 9, 2020)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Crime Scene Services
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
2/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
Live scan fingerprint system (3)
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Digital fingerprint system with live feed to the Massachusetts State Police and
Federal Bureau of Information for criminal history
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Two systems in Booking and one system in Records.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has a minimal impact as it is used to document and identify persons
in lawful police custody or those persons who voluntarily wish to be fingerprinted.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• Approximately $29,000 per system; plus $9,660 per system in maintenance costs.
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SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Consolidating STIRs Nos. 33-38 Submitted December 9, 2020)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
EOD
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
2/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
Wireless Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) robots with cameras:
Robotex Avatar II 2 (3); Foster Miller Tallon 4; Foster Miller Dragon
Runner 4; Remotetec F6A 4 with fiberoptic
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• These devices provide robot gripper and camera assistance that can be remotely
depoloyed to provide a live image of a suspected explosive device. The devices are
various sizes: Robotex Avatar II 2 is a small platform, Foster Miller Tallon 4 &
Foster Miller Dragon Runner 4 are medium platform, and the Remotetec F6A 4 with
fiberoptic is a large platform.
• These devices provide fast and reliable threat assessment for explosive ordinance
disposal (EOD) and bomb technicians. Grippers allow for device manipulation.
Cameras allow for visual inspection via distance.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
• Maintaining the safety and security of City employees, students, customers, and City-
owned or controlled buildings
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Various explosive units
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4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has a minimal impact as it is utilized minimally during exigent
circumstances when an explosive device is believed to be present. The images
captured are only of the suspected explosive device and its immediate surroundings.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• Robotex Avatar II 2: Original cost was approximately $40,000 per Robotex. Ongoing
cost is maintenance when needed.
• Foster Miller Tallon 4: Original cost was $105,000. Ongoing maintenance costs
when needed.
• Foster Miller Dragon Runner 4: Original cost was $102,000. Ongoing maintenance
costs when needed.
• Remotetec F6A 4 with fiberoptic: Original cost was $150,000. Ongoing maintenance
costs when needed.
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SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 39 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
EOD
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Tactical electronics VF52 Fiber scope
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Optical scope technology used to view enclosed or secure areas for explosive
mitigation.
• Provides fast and reliable threat assessment for explosive ordinance disposal (EOD)
and bomb technicians.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
• Maintaining the safety and security of City employees, students, customers, and City-
owned or controlled buildings
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Explosive unit Response vehicle
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has a minimal impact as it is utilized minimally during exigent
circumstances when an explosive device is believed to be present. The images
captured are only of the suspected explosive device and its immediate surroundings.
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5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• Original cost was $56,000 plus ongoing maintenance.
63
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 40 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
EOD
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
ATF Bomb arson trackingArson Tracking System (BATS)
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• ATF reporting online system
• The Bomb Arson Tracking System (BATS) is a web-based case management system
that allows state and local arson and explosive investigators access to up-to-date arson
and explosve data from across the nation.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• ATF
• The BATS system is owned by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives (ATF). CPD has access through a web-based portal.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has a minimal impact as it only used to track arson and bomb
incidents. Only authorized explosive investigators are granted access using username
and password. Only CJIS Compliant Certified Public Safety Employees in the
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performance of their official duties may access, use or disseminate information
contained in BATS for official and lawful criminal justice purposes.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• Access provided by ATF at no charge.
• none
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SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Consolidating STIRs Nos. 41 & 42 Submitted December 9, 2020)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Fleet
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Prisoner Transport Security Cameras (Wagon 236 & 240)
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Prisoner Transport Security Cameras provideenhanced safety for transporting officers
and prisoners by recording the circumstances of individuals’ transportation by CPD.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Maintaining the safety and security of City employees, students, customers, and City-
owned or controlled buildings
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Transport vehicles
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has a minimal impact as it is used to view persons lawfully in police
custody who are being transported by the Department and is implemented strictly for
their safety and the safety of the transporting officers. The information is saved for 14
days and is automatically written over unless affirmative action is taken to save a
particular piece of footage.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
66
• $2,280 for Wagon 236 cameras; approximately $2,500 for Wagon 240 cameras.
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SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 43 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
SRT
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Throwbot XT
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Robotic camera for remote viewing; no recording but real-time viewing with audio.
• This technology is a throwable micro-robot platform that enables operators to obtain
instanteous video and audio. It can be placed, or made to travel (crawl) into hazardous
situations (without risking human exposure to harm) in order to allow operators to
quickly make informed decisions when seconds count.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying and preventing threats to persons and property and preventing injury to
persons or significant damage to property
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
• Maintaining the safety and security of City employees, students, customers, and City-
owned or controlled buildings
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Across the City, on an as-needed basis.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has a minimal impact since the technology is used in minimal
situations where an exigency exists and the Special Response Team needs to assess
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whether a threat exists before making lawful entry or taking further action. The audio
and video captured in real time are not recorded or stored.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• $14,000 purchase cost plus most recent maintenance of $1,750.
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SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 44 Submitted December 9, 2019; Supplemented January 22, 2020)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
CID
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Case Cracker
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Video Recording - Interview Rooms
• Case Cracker is a video recording technology used in interview rooms at the police
stations to document police interviews.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal offenders
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Police station interview rooms.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has a minimal impact since the recordings are all done voluntarily.
In addition, theAudiovisual recordings are posited to alleviate public concerns
connected with suspect treatment in custodial settings. There is a compelling societal
interest in requiring video recording of police interviews and interrogations. The
benefits of recording custodial interrogations go above and beyond transparency. The
benefits extend not only to the accused, but also to the police, defense attorneys,
prosecutors, fact finders, and the public8.
8 Bang, B. et al. (2018) Police Recording of Custodial Interrogations: A State-by-State Legal Inquiry
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o Note: The Supreme Judicial Court has expressed a preference that criminal
interrogations and identification procedures be recorded whenever practicable.
See Commonwealth v. DiGiambattista, 442 Mass. 423 (2004);)9;
Commonwealth v. Silva-Santiago, 453 Mass. 782 (2004).)10.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• Approximately $40,000
9 Commonwealth vs. DiGiambattista, 442 Mass. 423
10 Commonwealth vs. Silva-Santiago
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SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 45 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Police
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Professional Standards Unit
Submitted by:
Jim MulcahyCommissioner Branville Bard
Date:
12/9/192/24/2020
Surveillance
Technology:
Infraware
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Dictation Software
• Infraware is dictation software that records a person’s voice for transcription
purposes.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Gathering evidence of violations of any law in criminal, civil, and administrative
actions
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Police station
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• This technology has a minimal impact since the technology records voluntary
interviews.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• Not available.
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SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 48 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Public Health Department
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Public Health Nursing
Epidemiology and Data Services
Submitted by:
Anna Wielgosz
Manager, Epidemiology and Data Services
Cambridge Public Health DepartmentClaude Jacob
Date:
12/9/192/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
MAVEN (Massachusetts Virtual Epidemiologic Network)
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• "MAVEN" is the Massachusetts Virtual Epidemiologic Network - a PHIN (Public
Health Information Network) compliant, secure web-based surveillance and case
management system for infectious diseases that enables rapid, efficient
communication among local and state health departments and laboratories. MAVEN
is an easy way to conduct case investigations and management while also decreasing
paperwork. The system was purchased and developed in 2005 by MDPH and local
health partners. The data in MAVEN goes back until approximately 1989 for the
general epidemiology and vaccine preventable disease events. For tuberculosis, the
data goes back to approximately 1993.
• Infectious disease surveillance is the routine collection, analysis, interpretation, and
distribution of data in order to reduce morbidity and mortality through the
control and/or prevention of disease.
• M.G.L. c.111, §§ 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 94C, 109, 110, 110B, 111 and 112 define the
responsibilities of the local boards of health and the Department of Public Health with
respect to the reporting and control of diseases dangerous to the public health. M.G.L.
c.111D, § 6, references the obligation of clinical laboratories to report infectious
diseases to the Department.
• By state law, when a MA resident is diagnosed or has a suspected diagnosis of a
reportable condition, their medical providers are required to report information about
73
the patient (when available, full demographic, clinical and epidemiologic information,
as defined by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health) to the health
department. At this point in time, most of these reports are automatically sent by
laboratories and providers electronically to the state health department through
MAVEN; they can also report information via fax or phone to either the state health
department or their local health department, where staff then enter this information
into MAVEN by hand. Reporting is mandated by the state for certain conditions.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• "MAVEN" is the Massachusetts Virtual Epidemiologic Network - a PHIN (Public
Health Information Network) compliant, secure web-based surveillance and case
management system for infectious diseases that enables rapid, efficient
communication among local and state health departments and laboratories. MAVEN
is an easy way to conduct case investigations and management while also decreasing
paperwork. The system was purchased and developed in 2005 by MDPH and local
health partners. The data in MAVEN goes back until approximately 1989 for the
general epidemiology and vaccine preventable disease events. For tuberculosis, the
data goes back to approximately 1993.
Infectious disease surveillance is the routine collection, analysis, interpretation, and
distribution of data in order to reduce morbidity and mortality through the
control and/or prevention of disease.
• Surveillance data is used to:
o Monitor disease trends over time
o Rapidly detect increases in disease occurrence
o Implement control measures
o Identify high-risk groups
o Allocate resources & guide public health policy and action
• There are approximately 90 notifiable infectious diseases that have a required
response.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• The Cambridge Public Health Department has been using MAVEN since its inception
in 2005. Access is limited by a user's roles and groups, so, by default, CPHD users
can see only Cambridge residents’ information. Within CPHD, only those staff who
74
are required to use MAVEN to conduct infectious disease surveillance work have
access to the system.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• The information collected in MAVEN is considered protected health information
(PHI) under HIPAA. HIPAA specifically allows public health reporting and access to
PHI for public health activities without requiring an individual's authorization.
• Access to MAVEN is limited by a user's roles and groups, so, by default, CPHD users
can see only Cambridge residents’ information. Within CPHD, only those staff who
are required to use MAVEN to conduct infectious disease surveillance work have
access to the system.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• MAVEN is managed and maintained by the Office of Integrated Surveillance and
Informatics Services at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which funds
MAVEN. CPHD staff use MAVEN to do state-mandated infectious disease
investigations, but are not involved in the initial or ongoing maintenance of the
system.
75
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR Submitted January 22, 2020)
Department:
School Department
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Transportation
Submitted by:
James Maloney
Date:
1/22/20 2/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
GPS devices installed on student transportation vehicles
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• GPS Units units are attached to the student transportation vehicles to monitor and
report back the physical location of the vehicles to the CPS Transportation
Department. The GPS unitss monitor the physical location of each vehicle in real
time. This is the only data collected by the GPS Unitsunits.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Maintaining the safety and security of City employees, students, customers, and City-
owned or controlled buildings
• Operating vehicles for City
• Communicating among City employees, with citizens, or with third parties
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• On each vehicle trannsporting students.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• For the students riding the a particular vehicle the GPS location, when combined with
the transportation routing data, could indicate the physical location of a student
if/when they were riding the vehicle. Whether or not a student is actually riding in a
vehicle is not part of the data collected.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
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a. Ongoing Maintenance = $1579/year
b. Personnel = N/A – Once installed there is no ongoing maintenance.
c. Source of Funds = School General Fund
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SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR Submitted January 22, 2020)
Department:
School Department
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Transportation Department
Submitted by:
James Maloney
Date:
1/22/20 2/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
Edulog Transportation System
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• The Edulog Transportation system is a database used by the CPS Transportation
Department to manage the bus routes and student assignments. All information about
what buses students ride as well as the buses locations are stored and managed within
this system.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Providing information to emergency personnel
• Maintaining the safety and security of City employees, students, customers, and City-
owned or controlled buildings
• Operating vehicles for City business
• Analyzing and managing service delivery
• Communicating among City employees, with citizens, or with third parties
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Hosted in the cloud and available at discrete workstations within CPS and the
contracted transportation provider.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• Student assignments to bus routes as well as actual bus GPS locations are recorded in
the database. This data is used to monitor bus performance as well as to provide a
parent portal for parents to know when to expect busses at the bus stops. CPS
Transportation staff have access to the Edulog system with all student bus
82
assignments. Parents only have access to the bus routes that their child is assigned to
on a particular day through a secure portal.
• Actual ridership – meaning whether a student is actually on a bus is not obtained or
recorded. All that is maintained is student to bus assignment, routes, and actual geo-
location of the buses.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• Ongoing Maintenance = $19,660/Yearyear
• Personnel = A portion of the CPS transportation office staff’s time is devoted to
maintaining the Edulog system.
• Source of Funds = School General Fund
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SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 51 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Traffic, Parking, and Transportation
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Street Management
Submitted by:
Joe Barr, Brooke McKenna, Stephanie McAuliffe
Date:
12/9/192/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
Traffic Signal Detection Cameras
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• The traffic detection units each consist of a video camera device which is mounted
approximately 10 feet above one of the traffic signal mast arms at an intersection.
There are two types of cameras:
o MioVision SmartLink 360 cameras
o Iteris directional detection cameras
• The MioVision units are mounted in a location that allows visibility towards all
approaches to the intersection and provide detection of users in all directions from a
single device. The Iteris units are mounted for each approach where intersection
detection is required and provide for detection of users from one roadway approach.
• The camera communicatesBoth types of cameras communicate a video feed via the
hardwire signal conduit to the signal control cabinet at the intersection, where a video
processing unit is installed. The video processing unit analyzes the video feed on-site
in order to count and classify roadway users approaching the intersection by their
transportation mode type and direction of travel.
• The MioVision Cameras and supporting software and hardware originally included
the ability to collect video by plugging a laptop into the processing unit located in the
traffic control cabinet at the intersection or to stream video upon demand to the cloud
for access through an online portal. Use of captured video is needed from time to time
to ensure proper functionality of the system to recognize and count vehicles, cyclists
and pedestrians.
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• At our request, MioVision has changed the default settings so that the City cannot
collect video at the control cabinet or stream video to the cloud. Only the Vendor will
be able to collect video in the field or stream data to the cloud. The vendor has agreed
in writing that they will do so only under specific circumstances and will notify the
City in advance of streaming or collecting any data. They have also agreed to delete
all captured video within 30 days. The circumstances agreed upon include: capture
video for training purposes, capture video for intersection detection accuracy
validation, capture video specifically to validate a solution to a problem at the
intersection, and capture video to analyze and detect/root-cause a problem at the
intersection.
• The Iteris cameras do not have the ability to stream or record video as configured.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• The purpose of this technology is to analyze and manage service delivery, in this case
operation of traffic signals and counting vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians. The
technology provides detection of roadway users, to classify their mode of
transportation, and to quantify their movements at signalized intersections in the City
of Cambridge. The aggregated data collected will beis analyzed and used to improve
the efficiency and safety of operations for all roadway users. The technology will also
provideprovides City staff with continuous roadway user counts to allow for
evaluation of seasonal and annual traffic volume variations to assist in future design
and planning projects.
• The processed data collected will beis used for two purposes:
o Traffic detection – this process provides a notification to the traffic signal
controller requesting to call or extend a signal phase to allow for dynamic
signal phasing that adapts to changes in the number of roadway users present.
o Traffic counts – providing continuous counts of roadway users traveling
through the intersection. Counts are broken out by movement (i.e., direction
of approach and turn or straight movement through the intersection) and by
transportation mode type (i.e., truck, bus, vehicle, bicycle, pedestrian)).
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• MioVison Intersection Cameras were deployed in the field in the Fall of 2019 at
multiple signalized intersections across the City.
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• MioVision Cameras will be installed at additional locations as funding becomes
available.
• Iteris cameras have been installed at isolated locations over the past three years.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• We expectTPT expects that the impact on privacy will be minimal, for the following
reasons:
o The cameras do not have sufficient resolution to provide personally
identifiable details in the video such as faces or license plates.
o While video streaming and collection is used in an extremely limited and
controlled manner as indicated abovebelow, the core functionality of the
technology operates through real-time processing of lower resolution video
data, resulting in non-identifiable discrete data on number of users and
deletion of video in real time on-site.
The impacts of recording the location of individuals, even at lower
resolutions, will be primarily mitigated by tight controls over when video is
recorded or streamed.
• The MioVision Cameras and supporting software and hardware originally included
the ability for the City to collect video by plugging a laptop into the processing unit
located in the traffic control cabinet at the intersection or to stream video upon
demand to the cloud for access through an online portal. Use of captured video is
needed from time to time to ensure proper functionality of the system to recognize
and count vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.
• At our request, MioVision has changed the default settings so that the City cannot
collect video at the control cabinet or stream video to the cloud. Only the vendor,
MioVision, will be able to collect video in the field or stream data to the cloud. The
City will have no access to the video. The vendor has agreed in writing that they will
do so only under specific circumstances and will request permission from the City in
advance of streaming or collecting any data. They have also agreed to delete all
captured video within 30 days. The circumstances agreed upon include: capture video
for training purposes, capture video for intersection detection accuracy validation,
capture video specifically to validate a solution to a problem at the intersection, and
capture video to analyze and detect/root-cause a problem at the intersection.
• The Iteris cameras do not have the ability to stream or record video as configured.
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5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• The initial eight (8) MioVision units were purchased for just under $21,000 each and
funded by the Casino Mitigation Fund. 4Five (5) additional units were installed as
part of a new private developmentdevelopments and turned over to the City for no
cost.
• Previous installation of Iteris cameras were installed as part of new private
developments and State roadway improvement projects and turned over to the City
for no cost.
• Ongoing operations and maintenance costs for the units will be covered by the
Department’s signal operations budget.
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SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 52 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Traffic, Parking, and Transportation
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Street Management
Submitted by:
Joe Barr, Brooke McKenna, Stephanie McAuliffe
Date:
12/9/192/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
MioVision Traffic Count Mobile Camera Units
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• MioVision Scout is a portable, battery operated, traffic video collection unit. It is a
standalone unit that is deployed in the field for unattended traffic video collection,.
Video is collected over a series of days and stored in the Scout unit on a digital
storage card. At the end of the data collection period, the unit is removed and data is
taken from the storage card and processed for traffic data. Additionally, Scout units
have the capability of detecting and recording MAC addresses from devices searching
for wireless networks within their range. MAC addresses and timestamps are then
transmitted to a central system. The central system then looks to see if the same MAC
address has been recorded previously by other units and uses any matches to establish
travel times. During deployment, the units also communicate wirelessly for
monitoring purposes, but do not stream data.
• Additionally, there is an optional “Connect” component that can be added to Scout
units that allows the unit to communicate wirelessly for monitoring purposes (but not
to stream data) and has the capability of detecting MAC addresses from devices
searching for wireless networks within their range. With the added ‘Connect”
functionality, the Scout Unit can detect devices within an 80-100 foot radius of the
unit. The Scout Unit uses MD5 hash function to produce a 128 bit hash value for
each MAC address, pseudonymizing the MAC addresses. This process is
unidirectional and cannot be reversed, but the MAC addresses remain unique and
matchable. These hashed addresses and timestamps are stored in the unit during the
data collection period then transmitted to a central system operated by the vendor,
MioVision. The central system then looks to see if the same hashed MAC address has
been recorded previously by other scout units in the vicinity and in the same time
frame and uses any matches to establish travel times.
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• The City of Cambridge does not own or plan to purchase Scout Units. However, the
units are used regularly by traffic engineering and transportation planning consultants
in order to collect traffic data in Cambridge to complete Traffic Impact Studies and
other transportation related studies. In the future, the City of Cambridge may contract
with consulting or data collection firms to collect data, and in turn those firms may
use Scout units to collect data on behalf of the City.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• The purpose of this technology is to analyze and manage service delivery, in this case
collecting traffic video and data that is later processed to provide a variety of traffic
related data such as turning movement counts, intersection counts and classifications,
road volume counts, and travel times.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• These units are deployed in the field, at various locations on a temporary basis. The
units are typically attached to a signal, utility, or streetlight pole within the right of
way. TheyThe boxes are locked and inaccessible during deployment.
• Deployment is based on the need for transportation data for use in a transportation
study, traffic impact study, or other transportation related data analysis.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• MioVision Scout units records Videorecord video at 720 x 480 resolution. This
standard resolution video offers limited personal information and does not include
license plate reading ability, limiting privacy impacts. In addition, all video
recordings will be done within the public right of way.
• While data collection is used across the City, it is possible that data collection, and
thus video recording, will occur most frequently in areas with significant new
development, thus possibly impacting these areas more than parts of the City with
less development.
• The impacts of the collection of MAC addresses are mitigated to a great extent by the
use of the MD5 pseudonymization process. There is no personally identifiable data
remaining in the hashed MAC address, and the process is not reversible. However,
because the hashing process will always return the same hashed value for any given
MAC address- as required to ensure the data remains unique and matchable- some
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risk remains. If someone knew the exact time a wireless device was at a specific
location and accessed the hashed data, they could identify the hash value and then
find other instances where the Scout unit has recorded that same hashed MAC
address. We can further mitigate this risk by requiring that all hashed MAC
addresses collected within in Cambridge be destroyed once the data has been used to
establish travel times. We can do this through the proposed permitting process
mentioned below.
• In the past, consultants have deployed Scout units in Cambridge without approval
from the City. Moving forward, the Traffic, Parking, and Transportation Department
will implement a permitting system that will require pre-approval for all deployments.
The permit will require that all deployments meet certain data security and data
retention requirements.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• All costs associated with the use of MioVision Scout Units are paid by private
consultants and/or developers.
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SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 53 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Water
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Submitted by:
Fred CentanniSam Corda
Date:
12/9/192/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
Automated Meter Reading System (AMR)
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• The Water Department’s AMR system is a radio-based system which transmits on a
Federal Communication Commission (FCC) licensed/reserved frequency. Meter
Transmitter Units (MTUs) are attached to every water meter throughout the city. The
MTU transmits water meter reads in a propriety format. These reads are transmitted
every 4 hours on a floating schedule. For example, an MTU will transmit a read
today at 6:00AM, and then transmit a read tomorrow at 6:03AM. The reads are
received by the Data Collection Units (DCUs) located within the city. The DCUs
transmit the meter readings, using a cell phone network, to a communications
computer located at the Water Department. The communications computer then
transfers the data to a database computer which translates the data in order for the city
to view the water meter reads. This allows the Water Department to provide actual
reads for billing and allows us to alert customers for potential leaks at their property.
Below is an example of our STAR AMR software and the data collected:
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
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• The AMR System allows the Water department to provide actual reads for billing and
allows us to alert customers of potential leaks in their property.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Meter Transmitter Units (MTUs) are attached to every water meter/building
throughout the city and the deployment started in 2004. Several Data Collection
Units (DCUs) located within the city were installed in 2004.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• None, there has been no impact.
• Every property that has a water service has a water meter regardless of any other
criteria, and the AMR system only gathers information regarding water usage. This
allows CWD to provide actual reads for billing and to alert all customers of any
potential leaks in their property.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• Initial costs – The original implementation cost onin 2004 was approximately
$4,000,000.
o We are nearing completion of an upgrade of the AMR system to replace all
the MTUs because the batteries reached their life expectancy. The MTU
replacement cost was $1,545,600 and the full value of the installation contract
is $1,102,500.
o We also have a contract to upgrade the DCUs and software for $48,380.
• Ongoing maintenance – The Water Department has an annual maintenance
agreement for approximately $15,000.
• Personnel costs – personnel costs related to reading water meters have gone down
related towith the implementation of the AMR.
• Source of funds – Capital Water Funds for upgrade, Operating Water FunsFunds for
the annual maintenance agreement.
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SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY IMPACT REPORT
(Revising STIR No. 54 Submitted December 9, 2019)
Department:
Water
Division or Unit
(if applicable):
Submitted by:
Fred CentanniSam Corda
Date:
12/9/192/24/20
Surveillance
Technology:
Consumer Engagement, (AMR)
1. Describe how the proposed Surveillance Technology will work, including how it will
collect Surveillance Data.
• Using water meter data from the Department’s AMR system, water customers will be
able to view their own daily water usage on-line to promote conservation and detect
water leaks. The data will be stored on a remote server, hosted by our vendor. The
individual data will be accessible through the City’s web page and access will be
protected by individual account log-in security which will be approved by our IT
Department.
2. What is the purpose of the Surveillance Technology?
• Water customers will be able to view their daily water usage on-line to promote
conservation and detect increased usage and/or water leaks.
3. Where will the Surveillance Technology be deployed? When?
• Through the City’s web page.
• The go live date is contingent on the city and vendor signing a contract. The
implementation is projected to take 4 months from the kick off meeting.
4. What privacy impact will the Surveillance Technology have?
• None.
• Every property that has a water service has a water meter regardless of any other
criteria, and the AMR system only gathers information regarding water usage.
Customers will have the ability to opt into the system and monitor their own usage.
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Customers that decide not to opt into the system will have no impact on CWDs ability
to provide actual reads for billing and will still be alerted of potential leaks.
5. What are the fiscal costs of the Surveillance Technology, including initial costs,
ongoing maintenance and personnel costs, and source of funds?
• Initial costs – The current low bidder cost information is:
• Ongoing maintenance – see above
• Personnel costs – no additional personnel costs related to AMR.
• Source of funds – capital Water Funds
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