Surveillance

Mayor Tishaura Jones stresses importance of looking at racial equity in surveillance programs.

Last Friday, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen was prepared to vote on a plan that would have compelled the mayor’s office to contract with Persistent Surveillance Systems, an Ohio company that hopes to use planes equipped with high-resolution cameras to monitor the city in a bid to solve violent crimes. Alderwoman Annie Rice of the 8th Ward discusses what’s next for that proposal, as well as a plan she introduced that would provide some oversight to surveillance used by the city and its police department.

The board’s public safety committee voted 6-1 Tuesday to endorse a three-year contract with Ohio-based Persistent Surveillance Systems. The company’s planes fly at low altitude taking photos of the city, which investigators can use to track the movement of people or cars leaving the scene of crimes. That information can be paired with ground-level cameras to identify witnesses or suspects.

Persistence Surveillance Systems originally developed its technology for military use and now hopes to bring it to St. Louis to lower the city's crime rate. The company has been running a pilot program in Baltimore — in conjunction with the city's police department — since April. Baltimore journalist Joanne Cavanaugh Simpson discusses the results of the trial run and how residents feel about the new technology.

This summer, the St. Louis region made national news after more than 15 children were killed by gun violence in four months, leaving city leaders…

St. Louis aldermen will try again this year to develop policies that control the use of surveillance technology in the city. A committee could vote this…

Dayton, Ohio-based Persistent Surveillance Systems developed its aerial surveillance system to help the military in Fallujah. The company’s CEO, Ross…

In a dimly lit room that resembles a college lecture hall, some five St. Louis police officers stare at a wall of screens.They watch through cameras…

Updated 9:30 p.m. May 31 - WASHINGTON- The clock has run out on the government’s authority to collect bulk phone records and other information on…

Five license plate recognition cameras paid for by the civic booster organization Downtown STL Inc. will be installed in downtown this month.Missy Kelley,…