Cambridge council approves license-plate readers and phone-unlocking tool, sends drone request to committee after hours of public comment

The Cambridge City Council voted on Feb. 3 to authorize two surveillance tools for the Cambridge Police Department—automated license-plate readers and a locked-device access tool—and to send a separate request for remotely piloted aerial vehicles (drones) back to the Public Safety Committee for further review.

The votes followed a long public-comment period during which dozens of residents, students and union organizers urged the council to reject surveillance purchases. Speakers said the technologies would chill protests, enable racialized policing, and risk sharing data with federal agencies; many cited recent local incidents and national examples. Councilors and city officials, including Commissioner Paul Ilo of the Cambridge Police Department, said the tools would be limited by existing city policy and state law and argued some tools could help investigators solve violent crimes.

The vote outcome:…