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Council discusses preparing annual public report and readiness for statewide audit of police surveillance cameras
Summary
Following media reports of alleged data sharing from police-mounted cameras, city officials said they would compile the city's annual public report on camera use and requested the report include data-sharing instances to prepare for a possible statewide audit.
The council heard a report about media coverage alleging improper data sharing from law-enforcement surveillance cameras in other jurisdictions and discussed preparing Blue Island’s annual public report on its camera usage to ensure transparency and readiness for a possible statewide audit.
The mayor (or presiding officer) said a Chicago Sun-Times story is prompting a likely statewide audit of municipalities that have installed the cameras. The city previously adopted criteria requiring an annual public report on use of the cameras; staff said they had not yet compiled that report and recommended producing it before any audit. The mayor requested that the report include, if available, a count of data-sharing instances.
City counsel recorded the request and staff said they would check the ordinance language and assemble the public report for review. No policy change was adopted; staff were asked to prepare the report and research whether the ordinance's reporting language covers the specific data-sharing metrics requested by the mayor.
Councilors did not propose suspending camera use; the discussion focused on ensuring documentation and transparency ahead of any external review.
