By Brandon T. Bisceglia
The controversy swirling around surveillance technology in Milford showed no signs of ebbing in recent weeks.
The city in late August suspended the operational use of automated traffic cameras, such as red light and speed cameras, and restricted the use of all automated license plate readers with the exception of those at Milford’s entry points.
Those moves came at the behest of Mayor Rich Smith, who called for a comprehensive review of the city’s program.
The Board of Aldermen at their Sept. 14 meeting took the next step toward that review by establishing a Public Safety Technology Review Committee.
The committee will have 90 days to review the city’s use of surveillance technology and make recommendations that could include termination of some or all the programs.
The committee will consist of four community members: Republican Scott Marlow, Democrat James Wovciesies, Republican John Maaer and Democrat Sara Wood. Also on the committee from the Board of Aldermen will be the Democratic majority leader or a designee and the Republican minority leader or a designee. Police Chief Keith Mello or a designee will serve as a non-voting member.
Traffic cameras – especially automated license plate readers sold by Flock Safety – have come under increasing criticism over recent months in Connecticut and around the country. Revelations of police abusing the technology, along with concerns about privacy and Fourth Amendment rights have driven much of the debate.
Flock in particular has been scrutinized because of its networked approach that allows information sharing between cameras, departments and other entities.
Police have generally supported the technology as an invaluable tool to solve crimes and catch traffic violations.
Mello has been a vocal defender of license plate readers. He cited their use in helping to catch a suspect in a June home invasion in which a 69-year-old man was killed and his wife shot in the head.
Yet Mello has acknowledged the sentiment in Milford and around the state. He chairs the Police Officer Standards and Training Council, which in late September released even stricter standards for the use of license plate readers that goes beyond restrictions passed by the state legislature earlier this year.
Mello also faced an instance of Flock misusing images of him in late September when the company repurposed footage of him to promote its 2026 conference.
“I did not agree to its use for that purpose. Appearing in a vendor’s video is not an endorsement. It does not change how this department writes policy, and what products or services we use,” Mello said in a statement.
The Board of Aldermen’s effort to create the Public Safety Technology Review Committee on Sept. 14 took multiple turns, as several board members moved to impose an immediate moratorium on all the surveillance cameras while a review was conducted. Alderman Win Smith III went further, proposing an amendment that would have terminated the programs altogether. That amendment failed.
“We don’t need a technology review committee. If we terminate the cameras, the committee is not needed,” Smith said.
Even as the review committee was being formed, the scope of its work expanded to include police use of drone technology. Drones come equipped with cameras that can also be used for surveillance, and Milford already has at least two drones in operation.
“As bad as red light cameras are, mounting cameras onto drones and having them flown around our city should be for all of us wholly disturbing,” Alderman Win Smith Jr. said. “Whatever they can say about having a diminished expectation of privacy in public places like roads, maybe that’s true. But I think we all have a strong expectation that we’re not going to be surveilled by our government. And this is a potential surveillance of citizens from the moment you walk out your door.”
Other cities have also looked askance at drone programs for first responders. Bridgeport in May postponed a decision on whether to allow the devices.