LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—A proposal aimed at increasing transparency around the Little Rock Police Department’s use of crime-fighting technology failed to pass during the latest city board meeting, despite strong support from its sponsor, At-Large City Director Antwan Phillips.
Phillips introduced the ordinance to require LRPD to provide more detailed public reporting on technologies the department uses, such as license plate readers and gunshot detection systems, and on how much more the city spends on them. The measure called for an annual presentation to the city board consolidating data, costs and effectiveness information that is currently scattered across multiple sources, Phillips said.
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“This wasn’t anti-technology,” Phillips said. “It’s simply: You’re using this, let us know how it’s being used and how much money is being used on it. Maybe it’s great and we need to invest more, maybe it’s not and we shouldn’t.”
Phillips said the ordinance was created in response to residents’ requests for more transparency about how police surveillance tools are deployed. He added that similar reporting requirements are already in place in cities across the country…