Coverage of the meeting (“Community meeting about fatal Jan. 13 shooting displays faith in tech, police and a higher power,” Jan. 29) on the tragic shooting of Angel Nieves – and the broader issue of gun violence – omitted a crucial remark from Cambridge police commissioner Christine Elow. When asked about solutions to the issue of gun violence, Elow pointed to the new 24/7 police-run video surveillance system being piloted in Central Square. Yet, in the same breath, she acknowledged that the system was originally intended to address “quality of life issues” in the area.
Let’s be clear: “Quality of life issues” is a well-worn dog whistle for homelessness. And when police use this phrase, they are not, presumably, referring to the quality of life of unhoused people who are struggling this year in 8-degree cold and snow. They are talking about the comfort of wealthier residents who would prefer not to see, hear or smell their poorer neighbors.
A casual observer might have left the meeting believing this surveillance system is designed to prevent shootings. But Elow’s comments – and my own experience as a defense attorney representing indigent people, many of whom live in Central Square – suggest a more cynical reality. This technology will likely lead to more arrests for petty offenses such as drug possession and trespassing, funneling even more police, court and corrections resources toward nonviolent offenses. This is nothing more than “broken windows” policing, Rudy Giuliani-style, repackaged with the allure of high-tech.
This is the opposite of what meeting attendees overwhelmingly demanded: true community policing. Instead of walking the beat, engaging with residents (housed and unhoused) and addressing their needs proactively, officers will watch us all from a remote panopticon. The people of Cambridge deserve better.
Julianna McCorkle, Lake Street, Arlington
The writer is an attorney representing indigent people in Cambridge, Somerville, Arlington and towns to the North and West of Boston.
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We need more drug possession and trespassing in Cambridge. Maybe if some more public figures get hit in the face in Central Square we can declare this initiative a true success.
Good thing the writer lives in Arlington then.
Don’t want to hear, see, or smell Mental Square? Don’t want to deal with a lack of parking, deliberate traffic congestion, and second-hand marijuana smoke?
Just. Stop. Going.
Why doesn’t Arlington have the “quality of life” issues that Cambridge, Medford, and Somerville have? Oh yes…. The T. Oh well….nothing good lasts forever.
We do need more more community policing, and that doesn’t mean cops driving thru or sitting in a car in a park watching for drug dealers, but actually walking around.
And we who live here know why the situation in Central is the way it is, ever since they closed the police station on Western everyone knows that response time to calls to the police are down, the little outpost near the bank is not sufficient in coverage.
Cameras are for post-event police work, used in investigating crime after its happened, not in influencing attitude/actions before they happen.
Cameras can also be used for false accusations based on bad facial recognition software for racial profiling and to harass peaceful protests and other such activities. Especially now in the age of deep fakes and AI manipulation they are nearing the point where they can be mislead or what they record ‘reinterpreted’ to the point where their days as a tool may be numbered in the court.
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