Scarsdale announced it wouldn’t move forward with a controversial plan to incorporate heightened surveillance technology across the village last month, a move hailed by many in the community who petitioned against it.
That equipment, however, is already widely used in Rye.
Funded through a federal grant, Scarsdale police were set to contract a technology company, Flock Safety, to install automated license plate readers, live-view surveillance cameras, and drones to aid in emergency response activity.
But between the village’s grant application getting denied and public opposition, Scarsdale Mayor Justin Arest announced in early August that the municipality would pull the plug on the whole thing.
“We always take community input seriously, especially regarding technology that may raise concerns for residents,” Arest wrote in an online update to the community. “At the same time, we remain deeply committed to ensuring our professionals have the tools they need to keep Scarsdale safe.”
Rye Police Lt. Michael Anfuso said Rye police already use automated license plate readers, both in patrol cars and as stationary cameras. Live-view surveillance cameras are also running feeds from multiple intersections across the city — at Purchase Street and Highland Road, Boston Post and Hornidge roads, North Street and Theodore Fremd Avenue, and Midland and Peck avenues.
Additionally, over the last five years the Rye Police Department has purchased two drones for emergency response – one for the marine unit and one for its patrol division.
Rye PD also announced last year that it would begin using contentious facial recognition technology from Clearview AI – a company that matches surveillance images with people’s online footprints, including scouring websites like Venmo, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
Rye Public Safety Commissioner Michael Kopy and former City Manager Greg Usry signed off on the nearly $5,000 Clearview AI contract last summer. While it did not require approval by the City Council, Kopy appeared before the council after the purchase to answer questions following a report by The Record.
Facial recognition software has grown in popularity with police departments across the U.S., but it’s also become widely scrutinized over privacy concerns and for being associated with false arrests, especially involving people of color. Clearview AI has also been banned in multiple U.S. cities and states, and fined for privacy breaches in other countries.
In Scarsdale, residents were proactive upon learning of the police department’s plans to increase surveillance of the community. Approximately 450 people signed a petition urging local officials to halt its proposed Flock Safety contract.
The Institute for Justice, a nonprofit public interest law firm, became active in the Scarsdale issue after residents reached out about their privacy concerns.
“Unlike red-light cameras or speed cameras that are triggered by specific violations, these cameras photograph every vehicle that drives by and can use artificial intelligence to create a profile with identifying information that then gets stored in a massive database,” according to the Institute for Justice. “Once that happens, officials can search the database for any vehicle they wish, all without a warrant.”
After Scarsdale Mayor Arest announced the village canceled its contract with Flock Safety in August, petitioners and advocates praised the decision.
“The village’s decision to cancel its contract with Flock [Safety] shows the importance of grassroots activism,” said Institute for Justice Special Projects Coordinator Tom Solomon. “Residents of Scarsdale made it clear they did not want to be subjected to unconstitutional, warrantless, and frankly unnecessary surveillance.”
Mayra Kirkendall-Rodriguez, a Scarsdale resident who spearheaded circulating the petition, said issues like “surveillance technology should always be placed on municipal agendas and publicized so that residents have an opportunity to provide their views.”
