St. Louis police present revised surveillance use plans; committee pauses for more public detail

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department on Wednesday presented revised surveillance use plans covering camera systems, automated license-plate readers, cell-site simulators, mobile camera trailers, ShotSpotter and device-forensics tools, then answered questions from the Public Safety Committee and dozens of community speakers.

Monet, chief of staff to the police chief, told the committee the department began work on the plans in August, presented draft plans in December and posted revised versions to the police department website on Jan. 2. "These are updated. They're on our site," Monet said during her presentation.

The revisions break out several previously combined items into more-specific use plans: separate write‑ups for citywide cameras (including situational awareness cameras and mobile surveillance trailers), automated license-plate readers (ALPRs), forensics tools (listed as Cellebrite and Magnet/GrayKey‑type phone extraction tools and a vehicle infotainment extractor), cell-site simulators and ShotSpotter (the vendor now operating as SoundThinking). Monet said the department also added product descriptions, clarified authorized uses and spelled out prohibitions, and revised language about deployment conditions such as court‑approved warrants or exigent circumstances.

Why it matters: the session drew sustained public comment and detailed questions from aldermen about retention periods, vendor names and how data are shared. Residents and privacy and civil‑liberties groups said current drafts do not give the public a meaningful way to assess privacy and civil‑liberties risks.

Public commenters asked for manufacturer product descriptions and clearer cross‑references to existing departmental policies and special orders. "They did not submit a use plan that meets the minimum requirements from the law passed last…