SHARE CU MAC supports the proposed ordinance on police surveillance in Urbana and invites community members to join us at the Urbana City Council meeting Monday, December 16 at 7:00 PM to support the ordinance.
URBANA, IL–CU Muslim Action Committee (CU MAC) welcomes new ordinance on police surveillance: “Ordinance No. 2024-12-042: An Ordinance Establishing Approval, Policy, and Reporting
Requirements for Policing Surveillance Technology and Databases”. This ordinance would require the Urbana Police Department to seek City Council approval before it can purchase and use surveillance technologies. It allows for a layer of protection for Urbana residents.
“CU MAC supports this step in keeping police accountable to the public. Discriminatory, Islamophobic surveillance in the name of counterterrorism is something we have experienced in this country since 9/11. This policy would ensure that the City Council can serve as a check on these technologies, while allowing for transparency and public input around police surveillance in the city” says Sana Saboowala, CU MAC member.
Israeli digital forensics technology, Cellebrite, is already being used against local residents (CU MAC statement on Cellebrite). Residents deserve to know and have official approval before indiscriminate surveillance becomes normalized in our city. CU MAC commends Alderpersons Wilken and Kolisetty’s commitment to transparency and advocacy for their community. As the technology around surveillance advances, accountability and transparency through this ordinance helps us build a safer community.
CU MAC encourages the community to join us at the Urbana City Council meeting on Monday 12/16 at 7:00 PM (400 S. Vine St., Urbana) to support this bill and the city council members working to create policies that protect our privacy and hold the police accountable.