Miami, FL – The Miami-Dade Police Department is seeking federal funds to obtain aerial surveillance tools capable of filming and collecting images for up to 32 square miles.
This application has received support from Mayor Carlos Gimenez who is now asking the County Commission to approve this request of federal grant money to obtain these mass surveillance tools.
Responding to this proposal, ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon stated:
“This is not the way to adopt public policy – no system of surveillance should be put into place until it is first established that there is a need which this system addresses, and that there are protections in place for the privacy of the people of Miami-Dade County.
The public must also be given the opportunity to weigh in about whether their leaders should so fundamentally change our community.
There must also be a sunset process to review whether this system has achieved the stated goals, and, if not, to end the program.
What the commission is being asked to do is retroactively sign-off on the launch of a large-scale surveillance system that fundamentally changes the relationship between the people of this county and its government.
Until these protections for the rights and privacy of the people of Miami-Dade County are put into place, the grant request should be withdrawn.”