Shortly after the Illinois Secretary of State reported that Forest Park police had inadvertently provided ICE with access, over the course of a year, to its license plate reader data, another software program used by police came before the village council.
While approving a renewal of the Clear software program which aggregates public and proprietary data about individuals, commissioners asked smart and appropriate questions. How is the data used by police? Who has access to it? How is its use monitored?
The questioning, led by Commissioner Jessica Voogd who ultimately abstained from voting pending more information – reflected a necessary awareness by our elected officials that in this moment of federal overreach on so many levels that there are genuine concerns about personal privacy.
The software, the creation of the Thompson Reuters company, is used we were told by police both to check the backgrounds of applicants for jobs on the department and in investigations. This company has its roots in journalism but figured out long ago that data mining was a more certain path to profitability.
Voogd said there is “significant personal exposure” when companies such as Thompson Reuters create “cradle to grave dossiers” on individuals.
She is looking for the village to craft formal local policies on how such information is collected and used, who has access to that data and, by extension, we’d ask, how is its efficacy measured by the police department and the village.
Commissioner Michelle Melin-Rogovin said she is now getting regular questions from residents about the use of such data gathering and surveillance cameras. That’s good and appropriate.
More questioning. More clarity. More caution.