Cincinnati police defend surveillance tools as Council drafts limits

Cincinnati's interim police chief, Adam Hennie, told City Council's Public Safety Committee that surveillance technology has made the department more efficient and helped push homicides to a near-record low this year, WVXU reported Oct. 6.

The department uses Axon license-plate readers on cruisers, stationary Motorola readers, Genetec city cameras, Axon body and vehicle cameras, and Skydio drones. It does not use Flock. Plate-reader data is kept for a year, city camera video for 14 days and body, vehicle and drone video for 90 days. Hennie wants to keep city camera footage longer.

In September, Council approved a motion from member Anna Albi directing the administration to draft an ordinance that would limit how long surveillance data is kept and who it can be shared with, and require Council approval of related contracts. A planned purchase of 30 to 50 more plate readers is on hold, and no vote date has been set.

Public Safety chair Scotty Johnson opposed new limits, while member Ryan James warned against a surveillance-state approach. Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio asked that the data be kept from agencies pursuing abortion cases; Hennie said the city would not share it for such investigations.