Maine Advances Bill to Remove Police Surveillance Secrecy
A bill aimed at lifting the shroud of secrecy covering police surveillance tools and their role in investigations of Maine citizens advanced after members of a relevant committee overwhelmingly recommended passage.
April 27, 2021 •
unk (TNS) A bill aimed at lifting the shroud of secrecy covering police surveillance tools and their role in investigations of Maine citizens advanced Monday after members of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee overwhelmingly recommended passage.
Rep. Charlotte Warren, D- Hallowell, introduced the measure about a year ago after the Maine Sunday Telegram reported on Feb. 9, 2020, that state police are relying on a provision in Maine law to withhold information about whether they are using technologies capable of mass surveillance of citizens.
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A bill aimed at lifting the shroud of secrecy covering police surveillance tools and their role in investigations of Maine citizens advanced Monday after members of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee overwhelmingly recommended passage.
Rep. Charlotte Warren, D-Hallowell, introduced the measure about a year ago after the Maine Sunday Telegram reported on Feb. 9, 2020, that state police are relying on a provision in Maine law to withhold information about whether they are using technologies capable of mass surveillance of citizens.
Warren’s bill was delayed for a year by the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after it was proposed, Maine’s public safety commissioner, Michael Sauschuck, acknowledged for the first time that state police use facial recognition scans as part of some criminal investigations, but did not provide written policies or details about how the technology is used.
Maine’s Police Surveillance-Tech Transparency Bill Advances
The state bill would still allow police agencies to keep sensitive investigation information secret, but it would require them to release information about the type, cost and protection protocols of technology usage.
April 27, 2021 • (TNS) A bill aimed at lifting the shroud of secrecy covering police surveillance tools and their role in investigations of Maine citizens advanced Monday after members of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee overwhelmingly recommended passage.
Rep. Charlotte Warren, D- Hallowell, introduced the measure about a year ago after the Maine Sunday Telegram reported on Feb. 9, 2020, that state police are relying on a provision in Maine law to withhold information about whether they are using technologies capable of mass surveillance of citizens.
AUGUSTA Rep. Ann Matlack, D-St. George, presented a bill before the Judiciary Committee on Thursday to update the fees paid to Maine sheriffs and their deputies when serving legal documents to residents on behalf of the state.
County sheriff’s offices are often requested by the State of Maine to serve legal documents to residents of their communities. For this service, counties are compensated for their work. However, the current remuneration is based on fees originally put in place in 1984. These fees have not kept up with the costs of serving civil process papers, divorce papers, civil arrests, custody documents and summonses.
Police say bill to eliminate intelligence unit would make Maine less safe
But critics of the Maine Information and Analysis Center say the more than $1 million in funding would be better used for other programs.
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Law enforcement leaders from around the state raised the alarm Monday against legislation that would eliminate a controversial police intelligence agency that critics say has strayed from its original mission and compromises Mainers’ privacy.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Charlotte Warren, D-Hallowell, would end the Maine Information and Analysis Center, a division of the Maine State Police, and return more than $1 million to the general fund.